'I'm so worried about the state of the water'

There have been reports in Jakarta that people are facing increasing problems in obtaining clean water. Millions of people can no longer consume water from underneath the city as it has been contaminated by sea water or the quality is poor due to environmental damage. Some people share their concerns with The Jakarta Post.

Niken, 30, is a lecturer at a private university in West Jakarta. She lives in Pondok Gede, Bekasi with her husband:

I am upset about the water situation in the city. My house has been experiencing water problems since 1995 when I found that it was not easy to tap water.

We have used jet pumps to tap the ground water. It's the best pumping machine but still the water does not flow well. It seems that as our neighbors also resource the ground water, stocks are decreasing.

In addition, it is disgusting to see many people in the city using water in Kalimalang River or Ciliwung River for their daily needs. Frankly speaking, I can't watch such scenes any longer.

Public awareness on sanitation is so bad that now I am careful whenever I want to buy food from food stalls near the rivers.

Before buying food, I'll check how they clean their plates and what kind of water they use. If it's clean, I'll go in and buy the food.

Veronica, 19, is the student from the University of Indonesia's School of Law. She comes from Bandung, West Java. She lives in Depok.

The water in Jakarta is disgusting. Every time I want to drink fresh water, I am worried about it, despite the fact that it's boiled water.

I have to be careful to buy drinks when I go to a food stall because I always doubt the sanitation quality. In this case, I prefer consuming mineral water or other bottled beverages to drinking water served by the stall.

Sometimes, if I have a drink, I'll see whether the water is clean and not smelly or colorful.

I think tap water served by the government or ground water derived from pumping machines tends to be unhealthy to consume.

Therefore, I must be careful to drink only bottled water, particularly at the makeshift food stalls in the city.

I just wonder why we don't use technology to produce ready-to- drink fresh water like those used in advanced countries.

Novian, 27, is an employee of a leading private company in Palmerah, West Jakarta. He has been in the city for a year after moving from his hometown of Surakarta, Central Java:

I'm so concerned about the water condition in Jakarta. I could not imagine a couple of years ahead, what will happen to the city in terms of water.

The city now is overcrowded and its population has been increasing rapidly, mainly because of migration from other cities around the country. That will result in the increasing consumption of water and the worsening of its quality.

The decreasing number of water catchment areas and the increasing exploitation of ground water is a very serious problem facing the city.

Realizing the problems, I try to care more about clean and hygienic water. I'm always careful when buying water at food stalls. I prefer buying bottled water or safely canned beverages. Otherwise, I'll get sick.

It will be better if the government allocates some money to tackle the problem of clean water in the city. Using advanced technology to produce clean water is much better than collaborating with the corrupt officials or businessmen who produce the water.