City urged to review tap water service

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It has been more than four years since the management of Jakarta's piped water supplies was handed over to two overseas firms, Thames Pam Jaya (TPJ) and the then PT Pam Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja), and taken out of the hands of corruption-ridden state firm PAM Jaya.

However, many people in Jakarta say they have yet to experience any improvement in service.

Water loss or leakage still amounts to about 250 million cubic meters per annum, or 49 percent of total production, due to the high level of illegal connections, which leaves paying customers continuing to have to face poor service, including weak water pressure and repeated supply interruptions.

Hot on the heels of the administration plan to increase water charges next month, some activists from the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) and the PAM Jaya labor union have urged the administration to evaluate the alleged poor service provided by the two foreign firms.

"The administration must review the performance of the tap water operators given the continuing complaints from the public about poor service," said Husna G. Zahir of the YLKI.

Husna recounted the latest complaints sent to her foundation about continuing disruptions to water supplies affecting residents in Otista, East Jakarta.

Given that water was vital for life, Husna asserted, the government must ensure that all residents had access to cheap and reliable water supplies.

The fact that many Jakartans had to rely for their water supplies on sources such as wells and water vendors showed that the tap water service was still not reliable.

Meanwhile, Zainal Abidin of the PAM Jaya labor union claimed the level of water leakage could be higher than the official figure of 49 percent.

"The leakage could be as high as 60 percent of these firms' total production," said Zainal, citing his own unofficial estimate.

An official report says that both of the private sector tap water operators produce about 500 million cubic meters of water a year.

"The administration should impose stiff penalties on these water operators if they fail to meet the targeted objectives that were agreed upon when the management of tap water supplies was handed over to them," said Zainal.

According to Husna, most important thing for the customers was to get the service they had been promised.

"Instead of giving excuses about the high level of water leakage, these two firms should compensate customers who have paid their water charges regularly but thus far were still receiving poor service," suggested Husna.

For example, Husna said, those companies could arrange the distribution of water from tankers at a reasonable price so that people whose taps went dry could still access water.

Husna said the fact that many Jakartans had to resort to wells and water vendors to get water highlighted the poor level of access the public had to clean water supplies.

Husna also warned that the increase in tap water charges, which is expected to take effect in April, would be blatently unfair without improved service.

As of today, the administration has yet to reach any final decision on increasing water charges.

TPJ and Palyja could not be contacted for comments on the statements made by Husna and Zainal.

TPJ, which is a subsidiary of Britain's Thames Water International, serves customers to the east of the Ciliwung River which divides Jakarta in two, while Palyja, a subsidiary of France's ONDEO (formerly Lyonnaise des Eaux), serves customers to the west of the river.