Company says water price hike due to pollution
Company says water price hike due to pollution
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Tangerang regency water utility (PDAM) Tirta Kerta Raharja (TKR)
blamed the severely polluted Cisadane river, which flows through
the regency, for its policy to increase the tap water price.
PDAM president director Utar Sutarya said on Saturday that
polluted water from the river, the utility's main source, had
caused high production costs.
"The water quality in the river has continuously declined due
to liquid waste being dumped into the river by industrial firms
and households," he said.
Sutarya argued that his company was unable to prevent
businesses from dumping their liquid waste into the river because
the PDAM was only a user of the river water, like other
industrial firms and the public.
"We can only coordinate with the regency health agency to
survey and regularly monitor the water quality and take samples
of the river water for laboratory tests at PT Sucofindo," he
said.
The company -- along with Tangerang regency's environmental
and health agencies and Tangerang municipality tap water operator
PDAM Tirta Darma -- set up a joint team last August to carry out
tests on the river. The study found that 11 companies producing a
variety of products, including ceramic goods, fiber, chemicals
and textiles, had been dumping liquid waste into the river.
PDAM Tirta Darma announced earlier that water purification
costs in the municipality had increased significantly.
Tap water customers in Tangerang regency have voiced
complaints at skyrocketing bills that are 300 percent higher than
those they paid in December. They demanded PDAM TKR review its
decision, but the company is unlikely to do so as officials have
adamantly rejected any review of the recent hike.
Tangerang Regent Ismet Iskandar said that his administration
had no intention of reviewing the hike as the local council had
approved the decision.
"The councillors asked only for better service in the light of
the increase. I personally believe the current price is
affordable," he said.
Despite the price hike, customers in Cisoka and Ciputat
districts complained about how difficult it was to get clean
water and demanded the company supply them.
Cisoka district chief Toto Sudarto said residents in his area
had sunk wells to a depth of up to 75 meters but the groundwater
was yellowish and putrid.
"I filed complaints with Pak Ismet and the water company. They
promised to supply water in cooperation with Lebak regency water
utility but no clean water has been available as of now," he
said.
Residents in Ciputat have also filed the same complaint.
"We have no choice but to use the smelly and yellowish water
for our daily needs," Nur Jamil, a neighborhood unit chief, said.
He added that for cooking, the residents bought clean water from
vendors.