Wastewater Polluting Sanur Beach Traced to Food Waste from MSMEs

Thick black water flowing heavily from a drainage channel towards Segara Ayu Beach in Sanur Kaja Village, Denpasar, has been confirmed as food waste from micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) operating in the surrounding area. This conclusion was reached following an inspection by the Denpasar City Public Works and Spatial Planning Agency (PUPR) together with a joint team. “After we checked, it is true that some of the waste came from MSMEs. However, to confirm this, we are waiting for the laboratory results from the samples taken earlier,” said the Head of the Water Resources Division at the Denpasar City PUPR Agency, Ketut Ngurah Artha Jaya, on Monday afternoon. In addition to the PUPR, a team from the Ministry of Environment, the Bali Regional Police, the Denpasar Civil Service Police Unit, the Bali Marine Agency, and local village officials also participated in checking the wastewater that polluted the sea. The inspection involved examining culverts, opening the box culvert outlet that discharges water into the sea using heavy excavator equipment, and spraying the end area of the drainage channel leading to the sea. It was revealed that the drainage channel is actually intended for discharging rainwater overflow. However, food waste from small food stalls at Segara Ayu Beach was found inside the drainage system. “The Sanur Traditional Village authorities will carry out enforcement and provide guidance to the MSMEs that are dumping their waste into the drainage,” Ngurah Artha stated firmly when contacted by telephone. “The Denpasar Sewerage Development Project (DSDP) is also connecting business operators so they do not discharge water into the drainage channel,” he added. Meanwhile, the Bali Environmental Working Group and environmental activist I Gusti Rai Ari Temaja, also known as Gung Nik, expressed regret that MSME operators were dumping leftover waste from their sales into a drainage system not intended for that purpose. “Earlier, to the west of the stalls, we checked and there was no water, it was dry. When passing the stalls, there was water mixed with waste. When we asked the MSME operators, they admitted it,” he explained. Regarding the extent of the pollution in the drainage water flowing towards the sea, he similarly stated that they must wait for the results from the Bali Environmental Laboratory UPTD team, which had previously taken water samples. “As a consideration, we will conduct guidance; later the authorities will summon them for coaching so that a septic tank is built or they join the DSDP. We will coordinate with the relevant parties for guidance so that waste is no longer dumped into the drainage,” he concluded.