Banten DLHK Reveals Causes Behind Blackened Water in Ciujung River

The Environment and Forestry Service (DLHK) of Banten Province has examined the water in the Ciujung River, Serang Regency, which is suspected of being polluted and has turned black. DLHK Banten revealed that the pollution originates from domestic waste and company activities.

Head of DLHK Banten Province, Wawan Gunawan, stated that the majority of waste in the Ciujung River comes from domestic sources, both from households and small traders.

“Our lab test results show that there are mostly BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) and COD (chemical oxygen demand) levels. BOD and COD indicate domestic waste. It could be from the community, from MSMEs, for instance, people selling food who dispose of waste into the canal, into the drainage, and it flows downstream,” Wawan Gunawan told reporters on Thursday (16/7/2026).

DLHK Banten has also inspected two large companies along the Ciujung River flow, namely PT Indah Kiat and PT Cipta Paperia. The results indicated that PT Cipta Paperia is suspected of discharging waste into the Ciujung River.

“We went directly to the field. The result is that there is indeed waste being discharged,” said Wawan.

Regarding sanctions against PT Cipta Paperia, Wawan explained that the matter has been handed over to the Serang Regency Government because it concerns the authority over the company’s permits.

“Because PT Paperia falls under the authority of the regency/city, the sanctions will later be determined by the regency/city,” he said.

According to Wawan, the company frequently violates regulations and discharges waste into the river. His office admitted to having found similar violations several times.

“For now, that particular company is the one that is always problematic,” he said.

He also mentioned that the phenomenon of the Ciujung River water frequently turning black during the dry season occurs partly due to reduced water discharge.

“The reason the Ciujung River might be black now is because of this hot El Niño situation. The water from the upstream, from the Karian Reservoir entering Pamarayan, is only released at a very low discharge during the dry season. Only a fraction of the flow is released from Pamarayan,” he stated.