Jakartans buy mineral water for bathing

Jakartans buy mineral water for bathing

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"People might be able to survive the trauma of last week's bomb
impact but force them to live without water, and it is unlikely
they would survive," said Ella, 27, a resident of Karet Belakang,
South Jakarta.

In the last 10 days, customers of PAM Lyonnasie Jaya (Palyja)
in areas such as Karet Belakang, Tebet and Kebon Kacang have been
suffering from water shortages since not a drop of water has come
out of their faucets.

Ella contacted a customer service officer who said that the
prolonged dry season caused the decreasing water debit and there
was nothing they could do but wait for rain.

The officer admitted that it could mean months before a
favorable rain would fall. In the mean time, residents would have
to find their own water.

Another resident of the area, Igor O'Neill, 30, has been
purchasing five-gallon bottles of potable water for bathing,
washing and flushing the toilet.

"It was silly. It was like bathing with milk," said the
Australian, who has to pay Rp 2,500 (29 U.S. cents) per five
gallons, which is only enough to bath twice.

He questioned Palyja's capability as a private company in
managing such an essential service, saying that the company
should come up with a solution such as a rotating system so each
area could get water, although not every day, during the drought.

Maria Sidabutar, spokesperson for Palyja, told The Jakarta
Post on Thursday that there was no emergency as yet and a
rotating system would not be needed.

An emergency status would be applied if the water debit
reached an average of 3,000 liters per second, she said.

Maria claimed that currently Palyja could maintain an average
of 4,000 liter per second but admitted that last week it once
reached a level of 2,600 liters per second.

She said that these days Palyja was coordinating with Perum
Jasa Tirta II, which maintained the water flow from Jatiluhur dam
in Purwakarta, West Java, to ensure an adequate amount of water
could flow through and reach all areas in the city.

The critical areas affected by the water shortage include
Muara Angke, Muara Karang, Penjaringan, Pluit, Cengkareng,
Pegadungan, Kali Deres, Mangga Dua, Mangga Besar, Karet, Tebet,
Manggarai and Tanah Abang.