Bandung water contaminated

Bandung water contaminated

BOGOR, West Java: Bandung faces not only depletion of its
ground water, but contamination as well, an expert at the Bogor
Institute of Agriculture, warned.

Komarsa G., a staff lecturer at the institute, said a recent
study showed the alarming degradation of the quantity and quality
of the water supply in Bandung, Antara reported.

Given the trend, Komarsa fears there will soon be a critical
shortage of clean water in the West Java capital.

He proposed the reactivation of the agency to monitor the
exploitation of ground water resources.

Komarsa said contamination by nitrogen and chloride occurred
primarily in the city's center and residential areas. The source
of contamination is a combination of improper discharge of
sewerage, industrial waste and trash.

He said the level of the ground water has also fallen, in some
cases as deep as 20 meters from the surface because of over
exploitation. (emb)