Corruption clouds control of use of groundwater

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Environmental activists revealed on Tuesday that unclear government policy coupled with corruption resulting in weak implementation of regulations had worsened the condition of groundwater in the city.

"It's simply a fact that unclear government policy and corruption have led to weak implementation of regulations on groundwater," said Mas Achmad Santoso of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) on Tuesday.

Achmad alluded to the government's unclear policy on water issues with the appointment of the mining agency as the single agency responsible both for issuing drilling permits and the use of groundwater.

According to Gubernatorial Decree No. 744 in 1995 on procedures for issuing drilling permits and the use of groundwater, the mining agency also has the authority to control the implementation of groundwater use.

"The mining agency has a major interest in exploiting mineral resources. How could we expect the agency to manage groundwater in a sustainable way?" Achmad said.

Achmad remarked that groundwater management must be jointly controlled by several related government agencies to ensure its sustainability.

Otherwise, Achmad said, the exploitation would lead to a massive depletion in water supply and other environmental damage, like seawater intrusion and land subsidence.

Achmad also criticized the weak implementation of sanctions imposed on those who have violated the prevailing regulations in the use of groundwater.

"It's partly due to corrupt officials," said Achmad adding that the sanctions were also very light.

According to the city bylaw, those who violate the bylaw on groundwater would face six months in prison or Rp 50 million in fines, a meager amount for big businesspeople.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Safruddin of the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi Jakarta) urged the people to file a complaint with the government for the latter's failure to control the use of groundwater.

"Do not hesitate to protest to the government for its failure to manage groundwater as the public are entitled to access to clean water," said Ahmad.

He referred to Article 33, Paragraph 3 of the Constitution, which stipulates that the state controls, among other things, water, in order to maximize the benefit it brings to the public.

"Access to water is a basic right and is protected in the Constitution," said Ahmad.

Yuli, a resident of Casablanca in South Jakarta complained that she used to get poor access to clean water when she was residing at Tanjung Duren behind Taman Anggrek Mall in West Jakarta.

"The quality of the groundwater was so poor that we couldn't even use it for washing clothes, let alone as drinking water," said Yuli.

Many residents have been forced to drill deeper wells in order to get groundwater due to the depletion of the water supply due to over exploitation of water resources by high-powered pumps belonging to high-rise buildings.

Similarly, Ritno, a resident of Bendungan Hilir, South Jakarta who lives behind the BNI 46 towers complained about poor water quality.

"Most of the residents here are forced to consume bottled mineral water due to the poor quality of the groundwater," Ritno complained.

Groundwater supplies around 70 percent of the people's water needs in Jakarta, while river water supplies only 30 percent.