Government called on to clean up water

JAKARTA (JP): Residents of Munjul village in Cipayung subdistrict, East Jakarta, are still consuming polluted water from their wells although the source of pollution had been removed from their area seven months ago.

They urged the government or city administration to provide more clean water for them and to clean up the toxic waste in the area left by waste processing company UD Kurnia.

The residents, a total of 110 families living on Jl. Jankes, RT 004 RW 01, have taken the case to the local authorities, including to the village head, several times since 1996.

Their continuing complaints resulted in the decision of local authorities to evict UD Kurnia from the area in October last year. However, the water still tastes bitter.

A resident named Bambang (not his real name) said on Wednesday that they first complained about the contaminated water sometime in 1996.

"The water from our wells, tastes bitter and it causes skin irritation, ulcers and even black spots on our skin," he told The Jakarta Post.

He added that the wells belonging to 70 families in the neighborhood were all polluted.

Therefore, many residents had abandoned consuming water from their own wells. They then had to queue to get cleaner water from wells drilled by local authorities.

At first, Bambang said, they did not know what caused the problem, but they later suspected that the source of the problem was the toxic waste coming from UD Kurnia waste recycling plant.

UD Kurnia, which is no longer located there, received the waste for treatment from PT Indo Lysaght, a producer of zinc oxide, a material for tires.

"We suspected that the waste had polluted the water because before they operated here, the water was fine," Bambang said.

Residents then reported the case to the village head, Abdul Djawad, but there was no follow up.

Finally, around July last year, they went to the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi Jakarta) for assistance.

Chief executive of Walhi Jakarta, Ahmad Safrudin, said Walhi then contacted the Regional Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedalda) which later conducted water tests in the area in October last year.

"The results showed that the lead and zinc content in the water was extremely high, way above acceptable levels," Ahmad told the Post.

The water obtained from the well located next to the waste processing site contained 2,758 ppm of lead and 3,653 ppm of zinc. Water from another well at the site contained 14.48 ppm of lead and 4,078 ppm of zinc.

The maximum content of lead and zinc, as stipulated in the Ministry of Health Decree No. 416/1990, is 0.05 ppm and 15 ppm, respectively.

"It's very dangerous. Long term effects (of consuming polluted water) include hypertension, decrease in IQ levels in children, and miscarriage," Ahmad asserted.

Tests conducted by Labiomed, a laboratory owned by the Indonesian Army, also show that the water in the area failed to meet the clean water requirements as it had a high percentage of metal and gas.

The water contained 5 ppm of iron and 3 ppm of nitrate, while the highest acceptable levels are 0.3 ppm of iron and 1 ppm of nitrate.

Despite the continuing problem, residents have opted not to take the case to court as local authorities have responded to their demand.

However, Bambang said that residents demanded that the government at least provide more clean water for local residents.

"Four new pump wells have been installed. Two from the East Jakarta Mayoralty, one from UD Kurnia, and another one from a wealthy resident. But only one well works," he said.

Two wells from the mayoralty are not used anymore as the water is oily and dirty while the other was burned by several angry residents, Bambang said.

Now, Bambang said, residents have to wait in line and share water with each other.

"Secondly, we demand the government clean up the waste. We also want the company (UD Kurnia) to provide compensation for our losses," he said.

Meanwhile, village head Abdul Djawad said that the case had been blown out of proportion and residents were making an unnecessary fuss over it.

"The toxic waste issue is only an allegation, it has not been proven yet. Residents have also reported skin diseases, but where is the proof?," he said.

"They asked for clean water, we provided the new wells. But the residents burned it. As for cleaning up the waste, no one can clean up waste from the earth!" he added.

According to Ahmad, in terms of the extent of the problem, it is indeed a small case as it only affects a small neighborhood.

"But the pollution is harmful and the effects are serious. So, it's not a small case," he said.(hdn)