Groundwater supplies not exempt from tax
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration is planning a bylaw requiring people and institutions to pay tax on the use of groundwater and surface water if they use over 50 cubic meters a month, a city councilor said yesterday.
Ali Wongso Sinaga, head of City Council Commission D for development affairs, said the move was aimed at encouraging people to subscribe to city-owned water company PDAM, and cut down on the use of groundwater.
The tax levied will vary according to the quantity of water used and the users proximity to PDAM pipelines, he said.
"Those living within PDAM service area will be charged more than those living outside the service area," he told The Jakarta Post.
Customers who live within PDAMs service area will have to pay 20 percent more on total excess usage than they would for PDAM tariffs set for the same amount, he said.
The charges will be set with reference to PDAM tariffs, which vary according to customer categories and the total volume of water consumed monthly.
For example, PDAM currently charges a household which uses less than 10 cubic meters of water a month Rp 375 per cubic meter, while a family whose monthly consumption of water exceeds 20 cubic meters is charged Rp 1,600 per cubic meter.
Ali said people who lived outside the PDAM service area and obtained water from their own pumps would be charged less than people who subscribed to PDAM.
"Those who live outside PDAMs service area will pay around 10 percent less than PDAM tariffs set for the same amount of water," he said.
"The bottom line is that you don't have to pay the tax if the groundwater or surface water which you use does not exceed 50 cubic meters a month," he added.
The limit on use is set in accordance with World Health Organization standards, he said.
He said the organization had calculated that a family of five would consume around 30 cubic meters of water a month.
Ali said the city council was still deliberating the bill proposed by the city administration.
"There will be another meeting on this. That's why I can't say whether we will approve it or reject it," he said.
He said the planned bylaw was aimed primarily at motivating people to subscribe to PDAM water supplies if the company already had a supply infrastructure in the neighborhood.
"The main purpose is not to collect more revenue," Ali added.
Besides, excessive use of groundwater will damage the soil structure leading to degradation of the environment, he said.
"The use of powerful generators to pump groundwater to the surface badly affects the top soil. It causes land subsistence and leaves remaining groundwater supplies vulnerable to salt water encroachment," he said.
Ali quoted data from the Ministry of Mines and Energy which said that the intrusion of sea water from Jakarta Bay had proceeded as far as Pasar Rebo in East Jakarta.
The surface of Jl. Sudirman has reportedly sunk by 50 centimeters, while Jl. Gunung Sahari is 70 centimeters below the level it was when constructed, he added. (cst)