Govt fails to control groundwater exploitation

Govt fails to control groundwater exploitation

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has failed to control groundwater exploitation by
high-rise buildings in the capital, which has contributed to a
lowering of the water table and worsened environmental
conditions, according to an urban affairs observer.

"The government must impose stricter conditions on the use of
groundwater by high-rise building owners before issuing new
construction permits," said Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto of the
environmental division of the Jakarta chapter of the Legal Aid
Institute (LBH Jakarta).

Tubagus blamed the city administration's weak control on the
massive use of groundwater by multistory building managements,
which used high pressure pumps to draw the water from the ground.
"This has caused a lowering of the water table and resulted in
other environmental damage, including seawater penetration of the
water table."

"The depletion of groundwater has caused the arid subsoil to
absorb seawater to fill the subterranean voids," Tubagus said,
reiterating that seawater intrusion had reached some parts of
Central Jakarta.

Seawater intrusion, Tubagus said, both reduced the quality of
groundwater and obstructed people's access to fresh water.

"Legally, residents living around multistory buildings could
lodge a complaint if they could not find fresh groundwater due to
a drastic reduction in water supplies caused by
overexploitation," Tubagus said. "The government must ensure that
everyone has access to safe and fresh water."

According to City Bylaw No. 2, 1994, the use of groundwater
for commercial purposes, as for office buildings, must obtain
official permission from the governor. The permit, valid for
three years, could be extended as long as water exploitation did
not threaten the sustainability of the groundwater or endanger
the environment.

However, Tubagus complained about the lenient penalties for
those found guilty of violating the bylaw.

"Any violators (against the bylaw) are subject to six months
in jail or a Rp 5 million maximum fine, a meager amount for the
wealthy management of high-rise buildings," Tubagus grumbled.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Ali, chief of the hydrology subdirectorate
at the Ministry of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure
revealed on Saturday that high-rise buildings might cause damage
to the environment, including land subsidence.

"Subterranean voids resulting from overexploitation, coupled
with the weight of multistory buildings, contribute much to land
subsidence," said Ali.

In an area like the central business district, encompassing
Jakarta's main thoroughfares of Jl. Jendral Sudirman, Jl. Gatot
Subroto and Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said, for example, there stand 123
multistory buildings.

Ali said that some roads and buildings in Jakarta had suffered
cracks due to land subsidence, citing some areas in Kapuk Naga,
in West Jakarta as an example.

However, Ali revealed that such overexploitation of
groundwater would likely remain high, given that around 70
percent of water requirements were met by groundwater, while only
30 percent was from river water.

Ali also revealed that many people were unable to obtain
access to safe and healthy water due to space limitations in
residential areas.

"People can no longer dig a well a safe distance away from
their neighbors' septic tank, which means the water they draw can
be badly contaminated," Ali said.

Recent research by the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB)
found that 90 percent of Jakarta well water was contaminated by
E-coli bacteria, found in human waste.

"Ideally, a well should be sunk at least 10 meters away from a
septic tank. But in many cases here, wells are located less than
two meters or three meters away."