Gunungkidul hard hit by chronic water shortages

Gunungkidul hard hit by chronic water shortages

Text and photos by Tarko Sudiarno

YOGYAKARTA (JP): It's dusk in Pegunungan Seribu (Thousand
Hills) in Gunungkidul regency. From the top of Planjan Hill,
there is a beautiful lake of the same name. The scenery of blue
water and leafless trees in the vicinity is simply breathtaking.

But a closer look at the lake reveals something different. The
lake has lost 70 percent of its water and is extremely dirty and
stinky. It turns out the blue color is from widespread algae.

The five-hectare lake is the only source of water in the
current dry season for the thousands of residents of Saptosari
subdistrict.

Scores of people flock to the lake at dusk. Some bathe, while
others wash clothing or household appliances. Many bathe their
cattle, all in the same heavily polluted water.

It's not surprising that the lake with a water level that
progressively drops is getting dirtier every day with the
uninhibited use of detergent and uncontrolled release of dung by
the bathing cattle.

A similar view is common in other places in Gunungkidul every
dry season. Local officials say that the seven subdistricts of
Saptosari, Panggang, Rongkop, Paliyan, Tepus, Semanu and Ponjong
are seriously affected by drought. Only a few of the 262 lakes in
the area have some water left and can be used for all purposes.

A water crisis happens almost every dry season to some varying
degree. Some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and local
governments have built pipelines to distribute groundwater in
badly affected areas.

Unfortunately, the system does not work as well as expected.
In some areas, the water is inadequate and in other places, the
water leaks. Many have complained that the pipelines do not
provide enough water for household purposes.

To overcome the problem, the government has rotated the water
distribution. Planjan and neighboring Tritis, for example,
receive water from the pipeline system once a week. Residents say
that they do not receive enough. Each family receives about five
cubic meters to be used for a week.

Better-off residents are compelled to buy water from hawkers
or wait for water donated by the local government.

Hawkers sell 5,000 liters of water for between Rp 50,000 and
Rp 75,000. Before the financial crisis, residents could also
expect aid from philanthropists.

The dry spell also affects cattle. Feed has to be imported
from outside Gunungkidul. Corncobs cost Rp 1,000 and the farmer
has to spend some Rp 5,000 for a cow a day. This explains why
many people have to sell some of their goats or cows to buy feed.

"A cow eats a cow or a cow eats goats," is a popular joke in
Gunungkidul.

A food shortage for humans is also a problem, although it is
not that serious. Affected residents have to lower their meal
standards. Those who cannot afford rice turn to corn or cassava.