Rivers used as toilets, dump sites for sewage

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite the city administration's clean river program (prokasih), launched in the early 1990s, major rivers in the capital are still used as a dump site for various wastes including untreated sewerage.

Most people living along the riversides have their toilets linked directly to the rivers by pipes. While other residents of the city use septic tank disposal services that later dump the waste directly into the rivers.

Baji, 49, a resident of the Semanan subdistrict in West Jakarta, said nearly all squatters living on the banks of tributary of the Cisadane river dumped human waste into the river, which is located along Jl. Daan Mogot.

"It's common here. No one has asked us not to dump the waste into the river," Baji said innocently on Friday. He added that all of his 10 small houses, which are rented mostly to textile firm workers in the area, have their toilets directly linked to the rivers.

A similar practice could also be found in Rawa Buaya subdistrict along the same Cisadane tributary in West Jakarta, and in a number subdistricts along the Ciliwung river, including Manggarai Selatan and Manggarai Utara in South Jakarta, as well as Kebon Manggis and Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta.

Unlike in Semanan and Rawa Buaya subdistricts in West Jakarta, many toilets were seen along the Ciliwung river in Manggarai Selatan, Manggarai Utara, Kebon Manggis and Kampung Melayu.

"Apart from dumping the untreated sewerage into the rivers, the people also wash their clothes and other things such as vegetables there," said Rudi, a resident of Manggarai Selatan.

In Rawa Buaya, there are a number of public toilets built by the city administration's tap water company PT PAM Jaya, which also dumps the waste in the rivers.

"The public toilets are provided with tanks, which are connected by pipes to the river," said Cep Hasyim, a resident of Rawa Buaya, who runs the public toilets.

Sahadi, another resident of Semanan, said that after removing the waste from the septic tanks, the waste disposal services dump them directly into the Cisadane tributaries. He added that the waste spread an unpleasant odor in the surrounding neighborhood.

"Usually, they dump the waste at night. Once some youths tried to catch them, but they failed," he said, blaming the city administration for the incident.

Deputy head of the city sanitation agency, Rama Boedi, denied such a practice. "It is impossible that they still dump the waste in the rivers. But if people really discover that such a practice has occurred, they should report to us. We will revoke their licenses," Rama told The Jakarta Post.

But, Rama said that his agency was powerless to control the dumping of human waste by squatters and other residents into the rivers, despite the fact that it would be detrimental to the health of residents there.

The waste spread E coli bacteria in the river water that can in turn can penetrate people's potable water supply, especially ground water pumped from wells. The E coli bacteria can cause diarrhea, which can be fatal.

Baji admitted that diarrhea was common in his area, particularly affecting children. But he was not aware that it was caused by E coli bacteria due to the poor sanitation in the neighborhood.

In view of such a situation, the city administration announced recently that it would cooperate with Global Grid of New South Wales, Australia, to manage human waste as part of its efforts to curb the spread of E coli bacteria.

The Australian company will invest some Rp 50 trillion (around US$5.36 billion) in the project whose Memorandum of Implementation agreement will be signed in June.