Consumers told to cut tap water usage

Consumers told to cut tap water usage

Bambang Nurbianto and Evi Mariani, Jakarta

For Lita, a 28-year-old mother of two, staying awake every night
is no fun at all. After all, she's not staying up to watch the
soccer matches during Euro 2004, but for to watch for water from
her taps in her house in Karet, Central Jakarta.

Lita has been experiencing a water shortage since Monday when
the tap water supply stopped completely. On Wednesday, she felt
relief as the water started to drip at around 11 p.m. before it
stopped again an hour later.

As a result, Lita, who produces wedding souvenirs in the small
workshop in her home, has had big problems supplying the water
needs of the six people in the house.

"I didn't call the 24-hour customer service line because I
knew already what the officer there would have told me. I'm
really worried because the water supply is causing problems even
though it is not the dry season yet," she told The Jakarta Post
on Saturday.

Lita recalled how she had to buy dozens of plastic containers
of water from the supplier in the neighborhood, around one-
kilometer away from her home.

"If the water supply is going to be cut off, Palyja (PT PAM
Lyonnaise Jaya) should have made a schedule for every area so
that we know when we should store water," she said.

Jack, a tenant of an apartment in Kuningan, South Jakarta, was
a bit luckier. The apartment management announced to its tenants
last Friday that they would ration the water supply following the
receipt of a notice from water utility.

"It's very inconvenient for me late at night. Outside the
designated hours, we have no water," he complained, adding that
the water ran from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m., 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
to 10 p.m.

"So, from 10 p.m. on, we can't take a shower, wash the dishes
or flush the toilet," he added.

Palyja spokeswoman Maria Sidabutar told the Post that the
company, which serves the western part of Jakarta, had been
experiencing raw water supply shortages since early June.

"Since June 13, the water supply from Perum Jasa Tirta II in
Kalimalang has been only around 3,700 liters per second. It was
far below the normal 5,400 liters per second," she said.

Jasa Tirta receives its water supply from the Jatiluhur dam in
Purwakarta, West Java, via the West Tarum Canal.

She said the water supply had just returned to normal at 10
a.m. on Saturday, but there was no guarantee that the raw water
supply would continue to be sufficient. Therefore, she called on
consumers to be economical with the use of water.

Palyja had announced earlier that water restrictions would be
imposed on some areas of Central Jakarta, North Jakarta and South
Jakarta.

The areas affected are Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Thamrin, the National
Monument (Monas) area, Jl. Kalibata and the Harmoni area.

According to Maria, if the raw water supply to Palyja reaches
5,400 liters per second, the restrictions can be lifted.

Consumers can seek further information using Palyja's 24-hour
hotline at (021) 57986555.