Surjadi asks people to conserve water
Surjadi asks people to conserve water
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja reiterated yesterday
the importance of saving water during the current dry season,
urging middle and upper-class people to pay attention to his
call.
He said in City Hall that Jakartans should prepare for the
most unexpected circumstances of this year's long, dry spell.
"Use water as efficiently as possible. If people, mainly those
in the middle and upper-class, usually wash their cars three
times a day, once should be enough for now," Surjadi said with a
smile.
He said it was necessary for people to reduce water usage in
unnecessary activities due to the limited capability of city-
owned water company PAM Jaya to supply an ample amount of water.
"Even if the existing water supply is used under normal
circumstances, the city is still projected to face water
shortages," Surjadi said.
He made the remarks following reports of areas throughout the
city having water-shortage problems.
"I've ordered the city's five mayors to provide water to
people who face water problems," Surjadi said.
The mayors were also asked to identify the areas which would
likely be hardest hit by the scarcity of water, he said.
Meanwhile, head of the City Mining Agency, Arifin Akbar, said
yesterday that the city would intensify fee collection from
owners of artesian wells, who consume more than 50 cubic meters
of water a month.
"The stricter collection of fees is intended mainly to help
people use water more efficiently," Arifin said.
According to city regulation No. 2/1994, each artesian well
owner has to pay Rp 1,000 (38 U.S. cents) per cubic meter of
water used, if between 50 and 1,000 cubic meters is used per
month.
The city, however, could not strictly implement fee collection
due to the lack of supervision.
"We'll make a study on the use of artesian wells throughout
the city soon," Akbar said, adding that it would be done in
stages.
"If people don't use their artesian wells much, they won't
have to pay the fees," Akbar said.
Last month, some areas started facing water problems. Among
those hardest hit were Kedoya and Cengkareng in West Jakarta;
Pasar Minggu, Kebayoran Baru and Pakubuwono in South Jakarta; and
Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta.
Some wells in the city have also dried up.
Critics have warned the administration on the change of city
planning, where areas initially allocated for water catchment or
public parks, were changed into public facilities or other
places, such as offices and gas stations. (ste)