Pollution and clean water shortage<\/p>\n
The worsening water situation in Jakarta and other major
\ncities, most noticeably affects the poor and poses a serious
\npublic health hazard, report The Jakarta Post's Ida Indawati
\nKhouw, Maria Endah Hulupi and Pandaya.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): \"After the heavy rain, a beautiful rainbow
\nstretches down this road, right here, for everyone to see,\" said
\nIkin, with a cheeky grin on his face.<\/p>\n
\"Everybody in the neighborhood takes the sight for granted.\"<\/p>\n
Is Ikin joking? Probably. But the blue collar worker of a
\ngarment factory was talking about a serious problem in his
\nneighborhood of Semanan, West Jakarta, where garment factories
\nand very crowded residential areas exist side by side.<\/p>\n
\"Rainbow\" is a metaphor he uses to describe the neighborhood's
\nclassic colors: red, green, blue, black... all the colors that
\nrun down the overflowing narrow gutter where major factories dump
\nuntreated industrial waste.<\/p>\n
The gutter empties into River Mogot, which like any other
\nriver in the capital, is notoriously polluted. The water is
\nthick, black and stinky because it serves as a dump for domestic
\nand industrial waste.<\/p>\n
Along River Mogot, which is virtually stagnant during the dry
\nseason, live thousands of impoverished families who rely on
\ngroundwater supplies for drinking, bathing, cooking.<\/p>\n
Many Jakarta townsfolk may not be aware that by dumping waste
\nin the river, they are poisoning each other. Although Jakarta had
\nlaunched Prokasih (Clean River Program) more than 10 years ago,
\nall of the city's 13 rivers remain heavily polluted.<\/p>\n
Factories, families and people in the street dump their toxic
\nwaste into the river without proper treatment, while an estimated
\n90 percent of shallow wells (up to 40 meters deep) in Jakarta
\nhave been polluted by domestic waste.<\/p>\n
Seawater intrusion<\/p>\n
Intrusion of brackish water also poses a serious problem to
\npeople living in the coastal area. Look at Marunda, a somewhat
\n\"isolated\" subdistrict in Jakarta Bay. It is a typical slum area
\nwhere potable water is scarce.<\/p>\n
The swampy area by the sea, which has been jokingly, though
\nrightly, called \"Jakarta's toilet\", is devoid of potable water
\nunless one is rich enough to afford a powerful machine capable of
\npumping out water from a depth of 80 meters.<\/p>\n
Residents, mostly fishermen living in houses built on stilts,
\nhave to buy drinking water for Rp 750 per jerrycan (approximately
\n15 liters). In the rainy season, they save on costs by catching
\nrain water.<\/p>\n
When a dam in East Jakarta recently burst and disrupted water
\nsupplies from state-run water enterprise, PAM, the price of water
\nsoared to Rp 1,500 a jerrycan.<\/p>\n
\"We had to queue for hours to get water from a nearby water
\npump,\" said ibu Dedeh, a resident of Marunda Baru.<\/p>\n
In North Jakarta, where the water crisis is most severe due to
\nits proximity to the sea, only 50 percent of the population have
\naccess to drinking water services. The rest have to buy it from
\ntraders.<\/p>\n
The increasingly complicated water crisis has seriously
\naffected the low-income bracket, who have no access to clean
\nwater services. If there is any party that benefits from the
\ncrisis, it is undoubtedly the bottled water companies.<\/p>\n
On the other extreme, many wealthy people take water for
\ngranted. It is common knowledge that many wealthy people in
\nexpensive housing complexes pump ground-water for their private
\nswimming pools, robbing water resources from the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
At the height of the 1997 dry season, a resident of a housing
\ncomplex in Duri Kosambi, West Jakarta, was forced to dismantle
\nhis high-powered jet pump system by neighbors who believed he had
\ndrained groundwater in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
In industrial centers like Greater Jakarta, limited water
\nsources are \"fought for\" by households and industry.<\/p>\n
In its May edition, Warta Konsumen, a newsletter published by
\nthe Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI), reported that 30
\npercent of the water used in industry is groundwater, 60 percent
\nsurface water and tap water from PAM accounts for a mere 10
\npercent of its total use of water.<\/p>\n
The slack enforcement of the law on the exploitation of
\ngroundwater and the inadequate tap water supply has encouraged
\nexcessive exploitation of groundwater by both industry and
\nindividuals alike.<\/p>\n
Health hazards<\/p>\n
The water crisis has sparked health concerns. Even tap water
\nis not guaranteed to be free from contamination by heavy metals.
\nFor example, YLKI found in a 1990 survey that Jakarta PAM water
\ncontained 0.0024 ppm of mercury, 2.4 higher than the Health
\nMinistry standard of 0.001.<\/p>\n
The unchecked dumping of waste has caused widespread pollution
\nin rivers across Indonesia. See the table below for details.<\/p>\n
Heavy metal content in rivers in Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan<\/p>\n
(Metal, Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Health, Ministry, Standard):
\n(Cadmium, 0.04, 0.20, 0.06, 0.005);
\n(Chromium, 0.03, 0.02, 0.04, 0.05);
\n(Copper, 0.14, 0.13, 0.00, --);
\n(Iron, 9.25, 3.40, 10.55, 1.0);
\n(Manganese, 0.48, 0.48, 0.50, 0.5);
\n(Nickel, 0.22, 0.12, 0.00, --);
\n(Lead, 0.43, 0.11, 0.00, 0.05);
\n(Zinc, 0.41, 0.09, 0.08, 0.15)<\/p>\n
Source: Kualitas Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia, 1992<\/p>\n
A toxicologist from the Jakarta Islamic Hospital Foundation,
\nAhmad Hidayat, said that the water supplied from PDAM comes
\nmainly from rivers exposed to household waste. As for underground
\nwater, the quality depends on location. In coastal areas, the
\nwater is usually unpotable due to sea intrusion, while those in
\nhigh density areas are contaminated with various disease-causing
\norganisms, such as E.coli bacteria.<\/p>\n
In crowded residential areas, septic tank and wells are
\nusually too close to each other. The law requires that the
\nminimum distance is 20 meters.<\/p>\n
Good drinking water is clear, odorless, free from silt, metals
\nor contaminating organisms -- a requirement that PAM has yet to
\nachieve.<\/p>\n
Long-term exposure to heavy metal pollutants, existing in the
\nair and water are not tangible but lead to health problems
\naffecting the nervous system, organs, creating muscle pain,
\nreducing intelligence and triggering a chronic fatigue syndrome.<\/p>\n
Studies on minerals show that mercury can cause mental
\nretardation, gait and visual impairment; abnormal lead levels are
\nassociated with a lack of attention, increased impulsiveness,
\naggression and erratic behavior; while aluminum intoxication may
\ncontribute to hyperactivity.<\/p>\n
Ahmad suggested that the public are advised to find a reliable
\nfilter to remove harmful substances and boil water properly to
\nkill any hazardous living organisms.<\/p>\n
\"A good boiling pan is also necessary to avoid possible
\naluminum contamination from the pan,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Water testing is available at the laboratory of state-owned
\nsurveyor Sucofindo on Jl. Arteri Tol Cibitung, Bekasi.<\/p>",
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