Java, Bali face water shortage

JAKARTA: The water supply for Java and Bali has hit critical levels against increasing demand, a minister warned on Saturday.

Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno said the densely populated islands of Java and Bali were able to supply only 300 billion cubic meters of water annually, while demand was twice this amount.

Other islands are more secure, such as Papua, where demand is only 0.036 percent of the available water supply, or Kalimantan, where demand is 4 percent of its supply.

Soenarno was speaking at a ceremony that marked his inauguration as a hydrology professor at Muhammadiyah University in Surakarta, Central Java. He said the country was in dire need of comprehensive regulations to secure the water supply. -- Antara