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)