PDAM supplies only 58% of city water needs
PDAM supplies only 58% of city water needs
JAKARTA (JP): An executive said PDAM Jaya, the city-owned
water company, could supply only 58.8 percent of the city's daily
water demand of 1.7 million cubic meters.
"The company provide the people of Jakarta only with 1 million
cubic meters of water from the total demand of 1.7 million cubic
meters a day," H. Poedjiono, PDAM Jaya's business director, said.
He said that the remaining 700,000 cubic meters are still
being acquired from other water sources such as artesian wells.
According to Poedjiono, the company's capability to distribute
clean water to the people of Jakarta has increased from 41
percent of the city's total inhabitants last year to 44 percent
this year.
During the past five months, PDAM Jaya has come under fire
from thousands of people over various water complaints. Most of
the complaints are about poor water quality and its quantity.
For instance, a four-star hotel on Jl. Thamrin was forced to
spend millions of rupiah last month to buy additional clean water
due to the malfunctioning of the company's water installation
unit, while hundreds of residents living in Tanah Abang, Central
Jakarta, complained in August that their tap water was dirty and
foul smelling.
However, Poedjiono said that the quality and the quantity of
tap water in Jakarta will soon improve because the rainy season
will begin next month.
"According to the weather forecast, the rainy season will
begin in November and it will improve both the quality and the
quantity of the tap water in Jakarta," Poedjiono said.
To deal with the problem of polluted water, Poedjiono said
that the company has signed a joint cooperation agreement with
other related bodies including the city office of public works.
Poedjiono said that the company is now also constructing an
underground transmission pipe straight from Tarum Barat water
duct at Kali Malang, East Jakarta to the Pejompongan installation
center.
"The construction is expected to be completed by the end of
1995 while the ongoing construction process has already reached
Jl. Casablanca, Central Jakarta," he said.(mas)