Jakarta rivers, underground water severely contaminated
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Jakarta water, consumed by millions of people who also use it for their daily activities, is heavily contaminated by various hazardous and toxic pollutants, an environmentalist and an official have warned.
Ahmad Safrudin of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said on Wednesday that almost all 13 rivers in Jakarta and groundwater contained various metal particles like lead, iron, chloride and zinc, which are hazardous to human health.
Ahmad's statement was confirmed by the head of the Jakarta's Environmental Monitoring Body Kosasih Wirahadikusumah, who said that many industries had been disposing their hazardous and toxic waste directly to the rivers untreated.
Ahmad cited an example of the seriously polluted estuaries of Cengkareng Drain and Muara Angke river at Jakarta Bay.
According to Ahmad, a recent study conducted by the Bandung Technology Institute (ITB), showed lead particulate in Cengkareng Drain estuary in the level of 23.41 milligrams per liter and in Muara Angke river's estuary was at 24.06 milligrams per liter.
The acceptable level of lead content in water is only 0.01 milligram per liter.
The level of mercury in sediments taken from the estuaries also reached alarming levels as the substance at Cengkareng Drain and Muara Angke respectively reached 2.86 and 2.28 grams per kilogram while the acceptable level is 0.11 grams per kilogram.
A case in Munjul subdistrict, Cipayung district, East Jakarta is yet another example of underground water pollution.
Some 60 families had complained that their wells were spoiled by hazardous and toxic substance reportedly from a nearby company, which stored obsolete, mostly galvanized iron scraps, underground.
There are still many other cases of underground water pollution in the city. According to Ahmad, residents' wells along Jl. Kamal Muara are also polluted by various dangerous particles such as iron, chloride, and sulfur.
The sulfur content in one liter of well water reaches 1,025 milligrams while the acceptable limit is only 100 milligrams per liter. Chloride content is 17.750 milligram in each liter of water, whereas the acceptable limit is 250 milligrams. The content of iron in one liter of the well water reaches 1.47 milligrams, highly exceeding the acceptable limit of only 0.3 milligrams per liter.
Salinity in underground water in many areas in the city is also high, forcing residents to not consume it.
According to Ahmad, the salinization process is by intrusion of not only seawater into the underground water, but also by hazardous substances.
According to Kosasih Wirahadikusumah, his office has limited authority to deal with pollution and the handling of waste disposal, and policies had not been comprehensively carried out because each institution deals with its own waste handling.
"If there are violations made by industries like disposing waste directly into the rivers, we (my office) have no power to issue warnings to them as we have no authority to do so," said Kosasih, adding that the relevant institutions handle their own waste problems.
He cited that the military handled explosive waste; the Ministry of Health was responsible for infectious waste from hospitals, and the Ministry of Trade and Industry handled industrial wastes, while the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources handled its own waste.
The City Sanitation Agency reported to the City Council on Tuesday that Jakarta, home to around 10 million people, produces some 194,000 ton of hazardous and toxic waste a year.