Scholars hope to reduce water turbidity

JAKARTA: Postgraduate students in the Civilian Engineering Department at the University of Indonesia began on Wednesday a one-year research project to find an environmentally friendly technology to help reduce the turbidity of tap water.

In cooperation with water company PT Thames PAM Jaya (TPJ), the project will take place at TPJ's water intake station at the West Tarum Canal in Bekasi and at the processing installation station in Buaran, about 20 kilometers west of the canal.

The project is part of the work the university's Center for Environmental and Water Engineering Research (Center FEWER) is doing to find a way to process tap water without the use of chemicals.

Center FEWER coordinator Herr Soeryantono said that although TPJ was able to process water until turbidity levels did not exceed the standard 1,000 nephelometric turbidity per unit (NTU), river water often had turbidity levels of up to 11,000 NTU.

A memorandum of understanding on the research project was signed on Wednesday by Herr Soeryantono and TPJ technical director David Morse. -- JP