PAM Water Supply in Jembatan Besi, West Jakarta, Briefly Flows, but Dirty and Foul-Smelling

JAKARTA — The clean water crisis in the Jembatan Besi, Tambora, West Jakarta area remains unresolved as of Wednesday 4 March 2026. After more than a month of problems, water was briefly reported to be flowing, but it was dirty and emitted an unpleasant odour. Dian, head of RT 07 RW 03 Jembatan Besi, said he had received reports that water had briefly flowed into residents’ homes, but was turbid and smelled. Residents were shocked and disappointed by the condition. They questioned why water from PAM Jaya’s pipes was dirty and odorous. According to Dian, since Sunday 1 March 2026, the PAM flow had come on several times although the discharge was very small, just drips. However, on Tuesday 2 March 2026, the flow stopped completely until today. “Because some residents here leave their taps running all the time, you can tell when water is available. Yesterday it came out only in drips, but it was dirty,” Dian said. He added that water from PAM that emerges dirty is not the first time this has happened during the disruption caused by a burst pipe in the Latumeten area. Meanwhile, Eca, 28, a resident of RT 09 RW 09 Jembatan Besi, said water at her home briefly flowed heavily on Monday 2 March 2026 at around 12:00 WIB. She said the water quality at that time was not a problem. Yet, two hours later, around 14:00 WIB, the flow stopped again. When contacting PAM Jaya’s call centre, Eca was told that the repair process for the water pipeline directed towards RW 03 had not yet been completed. “Information is still under repair. There is no clarity yet,” Eca said. Meanwhile, PAM Jaya’s Senior Manager Corporate & Customer Communications, Gatra Vaganza, acknowledged that they are continuing to resolve the issue with the now-blocked pipeline network.