Brantas River in East Java heavily polluted<\/p>\n
Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya<\/p>\n
Massive sand quarrying, industrial wastes and illegal logging
\nhave heavily polluted the Brantas River, threatening the future
\nof the entire population of East Java.<\/p>\n
The 320 kilometer-long river plays a significant role in the
\nlives of the province's inhabitants, irrigating some 345 hectares
\nof rice fields, generating 900 million kilowatts of electricity
\nand supplying 150 million cubic meters of water to both people
\nand industry each year.<\/p>\n
The Surabaya administration however is being confronted with a
\nnumber of problems.<\/p>\n
The city-owned water company PT Jasa Tirta I, which has
\nmanaged the city's water supply since 1990, looks unable to
\nensure that supply will continue due to poor management and a
\nsevere lack of funds for maintenance.<\/p>\n
Combined with a population uneducated in environmental issues,
\nthe factors have contributed to the deterioration of the river
\nand concerns the natural resource will be unable to support the
\nlives of the province's 16 million people.<\/p>\n
Jasa Tirta president Roeswandi Usman said there were hundreds
\nof factories and industries which dumped wastes in the river
\nwhich flowed through 15 regencies and municipal towns.<\/p>\n
Roeswandi said that the problem was that the company didn't
\nhave the authority to take the necessary measures to prevent
\npollution.<\/p>\n
\"We just submit samples to the local office of the
\nEnvironmental Waste Management Agency (Bapedalda). Lamentably,
\nthe agency, that frequently hires local police, does not go by
\nthe book, with all problems remaining unresolved,\" Roeswandi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Frankly speaking, this is really a dilemma for us as we are
\nnot entitled to claims over losses while the cost to manage the
\nwaste water is high and consumes much time,\" he said during a
\nrecent tour of development projects along the river.<\/p>\n
Other tour participants were executives of the Japan Bank for
\nInternational Cooperation (JBIC), the Official Development
\nProgram and the local office of the Environmental Impact
\nManagement Agency.<\/p>\n
Roeswandi blamed foreign industries, including Japanese
\nfactories, for dumping its waste water into the river.<\/p>\n
\"It's funny, we have resorted to a cat-and-mouse game because
\nthe industries are dumping waste into the river at night,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Jasa Tirta has now installed monitoring instruments at
\nseveral locations to detect river contamination 24 hours a day.<\/p>\n
Bapedalda research and development staff member Raymond
\nValiant said his office had completed samples and gathered
\nevidence of river pollution but any action was dependent on law
\nenforcement officials.<\/p>\n
\"If it goes on like this, what we have been doing so far will
\namount to nothing,\" Valiant said.<\/p>\n
The biggest dam on the river provides quality drinking water,
\naside from generating electric power for Java and Bali.<\/p>\n
Deforestation by the locals is rampant, posing a serious
\nthreat to water catchment areas along the river. The city
\nadministration is finding it difficult to curb the deforestation.<\/p>\n
The local government has distributed 5000 seedlings of teak
\ntrees to residents in Malang regency to plant on the river's
\nbanks.<\/p>\n
To make matters worse, sand quarrying by locals, mainly those
\nliving between the towns of Mojokerto and Jombang, has triggered
\nfloods leading to property destruction.<\/p>\n
Sand miners have been using more advanced and expensive
\ntechnology, such as dump trucks and other machinery, and for
\nyears had been operating around the clock.<\/p>\n
\"So you can conclude which class of people are involved in
\nthis kind of business,\" Valiant said.<\/p>\n
Jasa Tirta in cooperation with the local administration had
\nperiodically hired police to crack down on quarrying, but efforts
\nhad so far failed due to contradictory policies.<\/p>\n
Some districts and regional administrations had even issued
\nregulations obliging the miners to pay tax while Jasa Tirta and
\nthe provincial legislative council had repeatedly called for a
\nban on quarrying.<\/p>\n
Another problem besieging Jasa Tirta was the chronic lack of
\nfunds for operational and maintenance costs. To date the company
\nhad relied only on sales to customers of Rp 35 billion annually
\nto cover costs of Rp 95 billion.<\/p>\n
With its assets of about Rp 7,9 trillion, 80 percent of which
\nbelongs to the central government, Jasa Tirta currently owns,
\namong other things, nine dams and also carries out a number of
\nirrigation and development projects.<\/p>\n
In total the company has invested Rp 5.7 trillion in the
\nBrantas River development project, most of which has been donated
\nby the Japanese government through the JBIC.<\/p>\n
To finance several development and maintenance projects, Jasa
\nTirta has asked the Japanese government for a grant of US$10
\nmillion and a loan of around US$20 million but the donor country
\nwas still studying the proposal.<\/p>\n
The JBIC's Jakarta representative, Nobuo Hazeyama, said that
\nJapanese assistance was directed to more urgent dam, irrigation
\nand electricity projects in the country's eastern region.<\/p>\n
\"So far there has been no new commitment, but we'll see,\" he
\nsaid, adding he was deeply concerned about Japanese investors in
\nthe province who degraded the environment.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/brantas-river-in-east-java-heavily-polluted-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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