HDB and PUB respond to Bedok resident's complaints of 'contaminated' water supply in 'nightmare flat'

[The_King]

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) and PUB have responded to a woman's complaints of water supply to her Bedok flat being contaminated and affecting her family's quality of life.

Geraldine Tang shared with Stomp the issues been facing since 2015 when she moved into her Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flat at Belvia in Bedok Reservoir.

Ms Tang, who is in her early 60s, listed them in a Facebook post she published on July 4.

Describing the problems as "impossible", she said that her bathrooms are smelly and invaded by "sewage and foul odours" from her neighbours.

 

 

 

 

She shared photos of stains on the walls of her flat and said that their feet itch due to "microbial debris" on the floor.

She alleged that the bathrooms turn into "saunas" when her neighbours take hot showers and that they have a "hot toilet bowl" because heat rises from there.

She also shared that there is "bacteria" in her tap water making it unusable and that her family fear suffering skin and urinary infections from contact with the water.

To "survive", she said the family buys 20 to 30 bottles of water for drinking, cooking and rewashing themselves in case they come in contact with any bacteria.

The PUB responded to Ms Tang's post in a statement on its Facebook page on July 14 at 12pm.

In the statement, PUB said it has been attending to the resident's feedback on water issues at three different residences since 2013.

PUB said they have collected water samples for testing each time and found that the water quality is satisfactory and safe for drinking.

It also found no service pipe leak within her premises.

Read the PUB's full statement below:

 

 

 

 

The HDB released a statement shortly after PUB's saying it is aware of the online discussions regarding Ms Tang's post.

The statement said Ms Tang's allegations that government agencies did not take action to address the issues within her flat are untrue.

"Multiple site inspections have been carried out since Ms Tang first reported her issues in 2015," the statement said.

"The investigations revealed no defects in the sewage system or other areas, which could possibly cause the alleged foul smell within the flat."

"PUB had also tested water samples from her flat, which showed that the water is safe for drinking."

HDB added an Indoor Air Quality specialist reported the windows and doors in the flat were constantly closed resulting in poor ventilation as well as high temperature and humidity within the flat.

Multiple cleaning chemicals were also found to have been used to disinfect the floor and walls of the flat.

The specialist concluded the microbial growth within the flat is likely a result of the poor ventilation and excessive washing over time.

"Ms Tang, however, did not heed the advice of the specialist to ventilate the flat," the HDB said.

The agency added they have not received any similar feedback from other residents in Ms Tang's precinct.

 

 

[XianGe]

No open flat will hab microbial growth?

The peasant for ask hdb guy to drink the water?

[meng.huat]

I stand on the side of PUB and HDB on this complain.

 

U see the pictures, they looked too crazy to be purely construction defects. And if the defect are real, being so serious, it is unlikely she is an isolated case. 

PUB noted this lady has been complaining since 2013, with 3 different residences. I think the chance for a lady to hit with drinking water contamination at 3 different residences within 7 years, is very, very slim.

 

Some of the claims in her post were too  exaggerated.

1) She claims her bathroom will feel like a sauna if her neighbor downstairs take a hot shower. For such thing to happen, her neighbor is showering with boiling water.

2) She claims her tap got contamination from the toilet/sewers. It is not possible. the water supply pipes and the toilet/sewer pipes are 2 isolated networks. contamination is not likely.

 

29 minutes ago, XianGe said:

No open flat will hab microbial growth?

The peasant for ask hdb guy to drink the water?

 

i think HDB is hinting this lady does a lot of washing in the house and kept her windows shut.

it will result in a very damp condition in the house.

I usually keep the windows open when I mop the floor.

If u look at her pictures, the black black growth on the ceiling are likely fungus growth in damp conditions.

 

Imagine if u r the HDB/PUB officer attending to her crazily disgusting house, will u dare drink water she offered?

 

In my opinion, Ms Tang should seek medical attention. Likely Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD),

She is obsessed with washing her house and keeping her windows shut "to keep dirty stuff out".

She is overly worried about germs, a Germophobe.