Sanitation in Brantas river deplorable

Sanitation in Brantas river deplorable

JAKARTA (JP): Poor sanitation and uneven distribution of water
along the Brantas river in East Java, as well as the
implementation of a sound water accounting system, are among
Indonesia's most pressing problems.

Philippe Crouzet of France's ministry of environment and
Arnaud Comolet of Planistat Europe Consultants said that
Indonesia's open sewage system is causing a serious sanitation
problem in the river.

At the "Franco-Indonesian Seminar on Water-Accounting: the
Experience of the Brantas Basin," they said while water quality
continued to decline, the gap between water demand and supply
continued to widen.

"If both the water quantity and quality continues to change at
such a rapid pace, it will be hard to make sound water accounting
schemes for the river," Crouzet said.

The seminar, organized by the National Development Planning
Board (Bappenas), presented results of the Brantas Basin projects
jointly conducted by the Indonesian and French governments.

Water accounting will enable the compilation of a series of
quantitative accounts and assessments for the use of decision
makers, while at the same time ensuring sustainable management.

Herman Haeruman, Assistant to the Bappenas chairman
acknowledged that a water accounting scheme was urgently needed
because water has increasingly become a valuable entity, unlike
several years ago when people thought it was free.

"The increasing demand for water has led to questions on how
to allocate it evenly among the poor and rich households and
between agricultural and industrial purposes," he said.

Herman said while the agricultural sector was expected to grow
by three percent in the current sixth Five Year Plan (Repelita
VI), the industrial sector was six to nine percent.

"Water supply should, therefore, be adequate to meet
industrial demands in particular," he added.

Comolet said the water's worsening quality could easily make
it insufficient to meet industrial standards.

Water quality

Indonesia and France, since the early 1980's, have been
collaborating in water management projects aimed at controlling
and improving water quality in local rivers. A pilot project was
set up in the Brantas river basin.

The state-owned Jasa Tirta water enterprise, with assistance
from French consultant groups, has been handling the river's
water quantity and quality management as well as the maintenance
of water resources infrastructures.

In 1991, the Indonesian and French governments agreed to
launch a new program aimed at setting up a water accounting pilot
system based on the existing project in Brantas.

According to Rusfandi Usman, Jasa Tirta's operations director,
Brantas river basin covered an area of 12,000 square kilometers.

Of the 12 billion cubic meters of water available in the
Brantas river basin annually, only five billion cubic meters can
be managed the whole year, he said.

Some 80 percent of this amount goes to irrigation networks and
the remaining 20 percent is allocated for municipal, industrial,
flushing and fishery purposes, he added. (pwn)