Sanitation in Brantas river deplorable<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Poor sanitation and uneven distribution of water
\nalong the Brantas river in East Java, as well as the
\nimplementation of a sound water accounting system, are among
\nIndonesia's most pressing problems.<\/p>\n
Philippe Crouzet of France's ministry of environment and
\nArnaud Comolet of Planistat Europe Consultants said that
\nIndonesia's open sewage system is causing a serious sanitation
\nproblem in the river.<\/p>\n
At the \"Franco-Indonesian Seminar on Water-Accounting: the
\nExperience of the Brantas Basin,\" they said while water quality
\ncontinued to decline, the gap between water demand and supply
\ncontinued to widen.<\/p>\n
\"If both the water quantity and quality continues to change at
\nsuch a rapid pace, it will be hard to make sound water accounting
\nschemes for the river,\" Crouzet said.<\/p>\n
The seminar, organized by the National Development Planning
\nBoard (Bappenas), presented results of the Brantas Basin projects
\njointly conducted by the Indonesian and French governments.<\/p>\n
Water accounting will enable the compilation of a series of
\nquantitative accounts and assessments for the use of decision
\nmakers, while at the same time ensuring sustainable management.<\/p>\n
Herman Haeruman, Assistant to the Bappenas chairman
\nacknowledged that a water accounting scheme was urgently needed
\nbecause water has increasingly become a valuable entity, unlike
\nseveral years ago when people thought it was free.<\/p>\n
\"The increasing demand for water has led to questions on how
\nto allocate it evenly among the poor and rich households and
\nbetween agricultural and industrial purposes,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Herman said while the agricultural sector was expected to grow
\nby three percent in the current sixth Five Year Plan (Repelita
\nVI), the industrial sector was six to nine percent.<\/p>\n
\"Water supply should, therefore, be adequate to meet
\nindustrial demands in particular,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Comolet said the water's worsening quality could easily make
\nit insufficient to meet industrial standards.<\/p>\n
Water quality<\/p>\n
Indonesia and France, since the early 1980's, have been
\ncollaborating in water management projects aimed at controlling
\nand improving water quality in local rivers. A pilot project was
\nset up in the Brantas river basin.<\/p>\n
The state-owned Jasa Tirta water enterprise, with assistance
\nfrom French consultant groups, has been handling the river's
\nwater quantity and quality management as well as the maintenance
\nof water resources infrastructures.<\/p>\n
In 1991, the Indonesian and French governments agreed to
\nlaunch a new program aimed at setting up a water accounting pilot
\nsystem based on the existing project in Brantas.<\/p>\n
According to Rusfandi Usman, Jasa Tirta's operations director,
\nBrantas river basin covered an area of 12,000 square kilometers.<\/p>\n
Of the 12 billion cubic meters of water available in the
\nBrantas river basin annually, only five billion cubic meters can
\nbe managed the whole year, he said.<\/p>\n
Some 80 percent of this amount goes to irrigation networks and
\nthe remaining 20 percent is allocated for municipal, industrial,
\nflushing and fishery purposes, he added. (pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sanitation-in-brantas-river-deplorable-1447893297",
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