Long-Unresolved Issue: PAM Water Smelly and Murky, West Jakarta Residents Trapped in Double Costs

JAKARTA – The piped water service provided by PAM Jaya in the Jalan H. Djairi area, RT 05 RW 02, Rawa Buaya, Cengkareng, West Jakarta, is being complained about by residents due to its murky colour and unpleasant smell. Almost every day, the water flowing from household taps is frequently black and cloudy, even emitting a pungent odour reminiscent of drain water. Based on observations by Kompas.com when testing a tap at one resident’s home on Tuesday (14/4/2026) afternoon, the water did indeed flow strongly. In several other homes, the water did not flow at all during the daytime even with the taps fully open. This condition is lamented by Nurliana Sihombing (61), a resident who has been using the PAM service for 25 years. “The water is sometimes like milk, sometimes like coffee in colour, and it smells really bad. Like the smell of a drain. Sometimes it’s pitch black or foamy,” Nurliana stated when met at the location on Tuesday. Nurliana mentioned that this dirty water issue is not new but has been occurring for a long time, even since she first started using the PAM service. “I don’t know what’s wrong, whether it’s because it’s near the river or what, but it’s never been fixed,” she said. She noted that the water in her home is not much different from the stagnant drain water in front of the house. Nevertheless, she has already incurred additional costs to suck up the water using an electric pump. “Oh, it’s been like this for a long time. So with PAM, sometimes we feel like we’re at a loss too. We pump PAM with electricity. That’s when it comes out, but what comes out is dirty water,” Tikno complained. The head of RT 05 RW 02, Eka, also recounted a similar experience. He once found his 500-litre water tank suddenly filled with black, drain-smelling water when collecting water at night.