'For drinking and cooking needs we have to buy water'

The Jakarta Environment Management Agency (BPLHD) revealed earlier that 10 districts in North Jakarta, West Jakarta and in Central Jakarta were experiencing water shortages due to the dry season. With most of the land in the city covered by buildings and concrete, the ground surface is very bad for water conservation. The Jakarta Post interviewed some people on the issue.

Yanti, 29, is a housewife who lives in Rawa Buaya, West Jakarta, with her husband and two children:

Water has been a problem in my neighborhood for a long time, especially during the dry season.

Living near Mookervaart river does not mean we have enough clean water.

We have to drill more than eight meters deep to get water and it's not clean water. The water is smelly and highly polluted. At first, the water irritated my skin but now my family is less sensitive to the water.

We only use the water for washing and bathing. For drinking and cooking we have to buy clean water, which costs us Rp 4,000 per day.

It's not healthy living here and I realize the risk but I have no choice. Worse still, we don't have city piped water installed in our house.

Bowo, 33, is a chicken porridge vendor who works from his home in Cengkareng, West Jakarta where he lives with his family:

So far, I haven't had any serious problems with water. The artesian well in my rented house runs pretty well.

The well in our house is the only one in our area which still is able to pump up enough water. My neighbors have begun to complain about not having enough water.

The piped water supply does not run well so we have to store water in a tank.

I rely on clean water for daily cooking from vendors who sell water at Rp 1,000 per jerry can. I have to spend around Rp 6,000 a day for clean water.

As long as I can afford to buy clean water, I don't have to worry about the ongoing water shortages.

In my opinion, the administration never takes the problem seriously including warning residents of possible water shortages.

Veti, 30, is a civil servant with the Tugu sub-district administration in North Jakarta. She lives in Lagoa, North Jakarta, with her husband and two children; I don't have any problems with water even in the dry season.

We use piped water for our daily needs even though it tastes quite salty. But it's suitable enough for washing and bathing. For cooking and drinking, I usually buy mineral water. We consume around 10 gallons of mineral water per month. With the mushrooming mineral water refilling business, I now only spend Rp 2,500 per gallon for mineral water.

Our neighborhood normally stores water in water tanks. As far as I know, most residents here don't have artesian wells due to the poor quality of the groundwater here. I haven't heard any complaints from my neighbors about water shortages. At least, they can still buy clean water from vendors.

-- Leo Wahyudi S.