Saving the future through water conservation programs

Debbie A. Lubis, Contributor, Jakarta

Many of us have perhaps never pondered on how a drop of water can influence our life. With the ever-growing population today, water consumption has increased dramatically.

It is estimated that an individual requires more than 100 liters of water every day. Water is essential to life, not only for drinking or cooking but also for bathing and even washing cars.

Consequently, water resources are beginning to become scarce while water-related environmental problems are likely to occur. Water is scarce in some areas, while in other areas it is too dirty to utilize. In addition, landslides, mudflows, floods and drought are natural hazards that can escalate into disasters threatening the lives and wellbeing of people.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), millions of people, most of whom are children, die from water-related diseases every year.

No wonder the World Water Day, which falls on March 22 focuses its theme on Water and Disasters.

Although it takes a long time for most natural disasters to happen, efforts to mitigate the potential impacts of natural hazards and water-related disasters need to be done. Therefore, many tap water suppliers or bottled water producers are currently developing water conservation projects, involving as many sectors as possible such as communities, the government, non-governmental organizations, the academia, and the media.

"We always remind the people of the importance of not ignoring a leaking faucet or water pipe. They should contact our call center right away in case of leaking pipes," said Maria Sidabutar, public relations manager of PT Pam Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja). "A dripping faucet, can accumulate as much as 14 liters within 24 hours or 4,750 liters in a year. Just calculate how many liters of water from how many water pipes and faucets are lost for nothing."

As a taped water supplier for residents living in West Jakarta, South Jakarta, and parts of Central and North Jakarta, Palyja has tried to change the public's perception and attitude toward water treatment since it was established in 1998. It distributes posters on protecting water resources and using water wisely to private/state-run schools and gives its clients calendars with a water theme every year.

Sometimes, it holds writing competitions to raise awareness of the importance of using water wisely or keeping rivers clean.

Palyja and PT Thames Pam Jaya (TPJ) and their partner city- owned water company Pam Jaya once took a group of community leaders, municipal officers, and journalists for a drive along the 70 kilometers of river from Jatiluhur Dam to Cawang Water Treatment Plant.

"They could see the critical condition of the open canal, which is highly polluted because of waste from factories and households."

Many of the residents living along the riverbanks use the river as their garbage dump. Some even throw away used beds or dead animals into the river. They also erect floating toilets on the river and wash their clothes using the river water.

Palyja routinely disseminates information on maintaining a healthy environment to them. But still, their awareness of potential water-related hazards remains low.

"It takes time for the officers to remove the garbage from the gate. The more the garbage accumulates at the canal gate, the more chance there is of flooding. Water pipes that are submerged by flooding are susceptible to contamination."

To build disaster-resilient communities and to synergize knowledge and actions for the sustainable development of the country, another tap water company PT Thames Pam Jaya (TPJ) has cooperated with academicians to conduct research on the level of heavy metals and turbidity of the water along the river from Jatiluhur Dam to Buaran Water Production Unit.

"Mainly the obstacles that we face come from lack of awareness among community members about the importance of protecting and maintaining water as a valuable natural resource. There are many people that still need to be educated about environmental problems, especially about river pollution or reporting leakage in water pipes and how it affects the quantity and quality of water they receive," Devy A. Yheanne, TPJ's public relations manager.

The company was established in 1997 and provides water services to over 2.9 million people in Eastern Jakarta.

Through an interactive program on a private radio station, TPJ also disseminates information about water problems. The community's participation in reporting leaking water pipes to its 24-hour Call Center at 577-2010 has proven that the public actually are concerned with these problems.

TPJ also conducts an intensive campaign to raise awareness of the importance of water conservation by sending flyers to its customers along with the water bill. This year, TPJ plans to educate students at elementary schools to senior high schools about water conservation.

Devy said that the company also tries to widen its distribution coverage in a bid to reduce direct extraction of ground water. "We are also trying to reduce losses due to illegal water connection or leakage of water pipes."

In the Marunda Project, which won the 2000 Worldaware Business Award, TPJ provided underprivileged households with clean tap water at a reduced fee. TPJ now provides clean water to more than 12,000 people in this poor community in North Jakarta.

TPJ also worked in partnership with local organizations and the Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure to build a water network at Pegangsaan Dua in North Jakarta and Cakung Timur in East Jakarta. This scheme will provide local disadvantaged communities with clean water services.

The concern over reducing the possibility of disaster has spurred bottled water company PT Aqua Golden Mississippi to conduct a sustainable program to preserve nature. Aqua, which is often called "Mountain Spring Water" originates from a natural water source in the mountain, which flows naturally to the surface. It is not being sucked nor pumped and did not come from the branch of a water source.

The company does not use ordinary plastic material for its bottles or the five-gallon containers but polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and poly carbonate since both are known to be more durable, transparent and environmentally friendly.

Its program of planting useful trees for biological diversity is called "Aqua Friend Tree". There are more than one hundred kinds of Aqua Friend Trees that can preserve the environment and have economic value, or even can promote health.