Waste management a dream

A popular joke made the rounds in Jakarta in the 1970s, calling the Indonesian capital "the largest ghetto in the world" and the Ciliwung River the "longest toilet on earth".

Sadly, that joke remains relevant today, with Jakarta looking increasingly chaotic and both residents and officials inadequately equipped to deal with the city's problems.

Most people in Jakarta would agree that the city administration should put waste management at the top of its priority list.

The environmental problems caused by the improper handling of human and household waste also requires serious attention. Polluted groundwater, rivers and seas have plagued the city for decades, yet few actions have been taken by officials, who clearly prefer making statements and promises to taking prompt and proper action.

Environmentalists have long voiced deep concern over the situation, as research has shown that the quality of the groundwater in much of the city is very poor, containing high bacteria counts, mostly the result of human waste.

So the city administration recently made public its dream of installing an appropriate sewerage system, mentioning several sites where sewage disposal systems could be built.

While this very noble dream has yet to become reality, the random construction of septic tanks in densely populated residential areas goes on.

While the required minimum distance from a septic tank to a shallow artesian well is 10 meters -- the farther the better -- it seems that most citizens have no choice but to install septic tanks close to their own or their neighbors' wells.

In the late 1980s, the Ministry of Public Works and the city administration worked together on a pilot project to set up a waste disposal system and build a waste disposal pond in Setiabudi, Kuningan, South Jakarta.

The project was aimed at reducing pollution levels in the Banjir Kanal canal, as water from the canal flowed toward the Pejompongan water treatment plant in Central Jakarta.

The waste disposal system was meant to help filter wastewater coming from households and offices along Jl. Sudirman, Setiabudi and Jl. Rasuna Said in Kuningan. The Setiabudi pond utilized aeration technology and was designed to put an adequate amount of oxygen into the water before it was channeled into the waterway leading to Pejompongan.

This waste disposal system was intended to serve the Setiabudi and Manggarai areas, as well as parts of Kuningan district. The expensive project was managed by a special office under the Jakarta Sewerage and Sanitation Office. When the project was completed in 1991, it was placed under the auspices of the Agency for Sewerage and Sanitation Management (BPAL).

The project, which was designed and implemented during the administration of governor Wiyogo Atmodarminto, did work at the time, but Wiyogo's successor did not seem to have any interest in expanding or even maintaining the system.

Today, the system is probably being left unused and many Jakartans do not even remember that the city ever began to introduce an integrated sewerage system. The existence and usefulness of the BPAL itself is now being questioned.

However, with the continuing degradation of the environment in the face of unchecked population growth, the city's waste management problems require serious attention. The Jakarta administration must make an all-out effort to minimize the problems caused by the mismanagement of waste.

The head of the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency, Kosasih Wirahadikusumah, recently said his agency's goal was to adopt a Malaysian-style sewerage system for the Indonesian capital. The Malaysian system, called a modified septic tank system, would be suitable for Jakarta, according to Kosasih, though he did not go into the technical details.

A comparative study has been completed and the agency has decided to begin installing 50 individual septic tanks soon -- one septic tank per housing complex and office building.

In this way, wastewater from households and offices will be cleaner before being discharged into nearby rivers, which means that the quality of groundwater and river water can at least be maintained.

Whatever system the city administration decides to use, what is clear is that Jakarta needs an integrated sewerage system. And a word of advice for officials: Making a real effort and taking action is much better than just talking about dreams and wish lists. The administration would be well advised to take a more realistic stance, including studying the possibility of reviving the neglected Rp 6 billion pond project at Setiabudi, which was funded mainly through World Bank loans.