City's ground water supply enough for 10 years' demand
City's ground water supply enough for 10 years' demand
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said yesterday that
the potential of ground water in the city reaches approximately
77 million cubic meters per year, enough to support rising water
demand for the next ten years.
After meeting with President Soeharto to report on the city's
preparation for the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) meeting, Surjadi said that out of the 77 million cubic
meters, 40 million cubic meters are derived from rain seeping
into the ground with the other 37 million cubic meters coming
from the Puncak hilly area south of the city.
Surjadi said that based on geological data, rainwater levels
in the city reach about 300 million cubic meters annually, of
which 760 million cubic meters seep into the upper level of the
ground and the other 40 million cubic meters into greater depths.
"The sustainable utilization limit of existing water sources
is estimated at 42 million per annum," he said, adding that water
consumption from the artesian wells in the city reaches 33
million cubic meters per year.
The governor said that 33 million cubic meters of water are
produced by 2,898 artesian well operators throughout the city.
"If the rate in the water demand rises by 1.5 million cubic
meters per year, the existing resources are projected to be
capable of supporting rising demand for the next ten years," he
added.
Surjadi said that the city administration is currently
studying the possibility of reviewing regulations regarding the
operation of artesian wells.
The city will also prohibit quarrying activities on critical
lands so as to help prevent destruction of water catchment areas,
which are vital to help save water resources, he said, adding
that reforestation drives and river cleanliness programs will
also be intensified.
He acknowledged, however, that it will not be an easy task to
change habits in order to help save water.
The city administration will also cooperate with the West Java
provincial government to protect the Puncak area.
Artesian wells
In a related development, the head of the City Office of
Mining, Arifin Akbar, said that the city administration will free
a number of areas in Pulo Gadung in East Jakarta and Jl. Thamrin
and Jl. Jend. Sudirman in Central Jakarta from artesian wells
starting next year.
"There are 80 legal artesian wells along Jl. Thamrin and Jl.
Sudirman and each has a capacity of 100 cubic-meters per day,"
Arifin told reporters yesterday.
He also explained that eventually all the city's five
mayoralties may be free of artesian wells.
He explained that the depth of artesian wells, used and owned
mostly by hotels and office buildings, range from 40 to 250
meters.
In 1993/1994 there were 36 artesian wells which were closed
down voluntarily by their owners and another 99 illegal ones by
the city officers.
The number of illegal artesian wells closed by the city
authorities in the current 1994/95 fiscal year, starting last
April, reached 59 with another 137 closed by their owners.
He also said that it is not fair to blame artesian wells as
the sole cause of land degradation in the city. It is possible
that the land quality and the weight of the many building weights
are also affecting it.
"Right now we have installed special equipment to find out the
real cause of land degradation," Arifin said. (yns/hhr)