Cooperation to preserve water catchment urged
Cooperation to preserve water catchment urged
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja underlined late last
week the importance of cooperation between Jakarta and West Java
in preserving water catchment areas.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the change of management at the
Ciburial water reservoir in Bogor regency, the governor said that
coordination is badly needed to help secure an adequate water
supply for Jakartans.
"Cooperation between the two regions to preserve water
catchment areas needs to be expanded further," he stressed.
He added that any effort must be coordinated with all sectors,
including housing developers, to prevent overlapping.
He explained that his office has limited the number of
artesian wells and declared South Jakarta a water catchment area
to solve the problem.
Ciburial water reservoir in Ciomas district, Bogor, covers 14
hectares. It was first used in 1922 to provide water to Batavia
(now Jakarta) but now supplies Jakarta and the Bogor regency.
The agreement to transfer the management of the facility was
reached in 1989.
"Under the new management, the facility is expected to better
provide drinking water to people in both areas," Sumitro Maskun,
director general of General Administration and Regional Autonomy
of the Ministry of Home Affairs, said at the ceremony.
"Water from the Ciburial reservoir will be distributed to
consumers in Cijantung and Kramat Jati in East Jakarta and other
areas between Jakarta and Bogor," Governor Surjadi said.
He explained that at the moment the city water company, PDAM
Jaya, produces 12,335 liters of water per second, fulfilling 45
percent of the demand in Jakarta. By 2000 production capacity
will be raised to 18,100 liters per second, supplying 63 percent
of Jakarta's population.
According to data provided by the Geology Environment
Directorate the total ground water potential in the city is
estimated at 77 million cubic meters per year and the estimated
limit of safe usage is 48 million cubic meter per year, of which
33 million cubic meter are utilized by 2,898 artesian wells in
operation in the city. (yns)