Gardens to get clean water

Gardens to get clean water

Many species at the Bogor Botanical Gardens are
unhealthy due to the use of heavily polluted water, an official
from the gardens' conservation center said on Friday.

Sudjati Budi Susetyo said that the gardens were using water
from the Cibalok river, which is polluted with household waste.
As a result, many species, such as the Amazon water lily, are not
growing properly. It is also feared that the deer roaming in the
garden might be affected by the polluted water as well, he said.

The Bogor Botanical Gardens are expected to get clean water
this year when pipes to the Katulampa dam, located about five
kilometers away, are laid.

He said that the project to lay the pipes would start later
this year, allowing water from the Katulampa dam to run directly
to Gunting pond, which is the largest pond in the garden.

Another problem facing the botanical gardens is that there are
too many sidewalk vendors around an area near its main gate,
Sudjati added. "But we don't know how to deal with that. We want
to solve the problem, but who do we tell?" --JP