Water begins to flow in Marunda

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After years of being deprived of a proper water supply, Marunda residents in Cilincing, North Jakarta, are finally able to quench their thirst for fresh, clean water, while ironically, the water shortage crisis is affecting most of the capital's residents.

"Water runs like never before," Taufik, 48, a Marunda resident said on Tuesday.

City water company PT Thames PAM Jaya (TPJ) has completed upgrading the North Jakarta pipe network that provides tap water distribution in Marunda and its surrounding areas, located in the northernmost part of the capital.

TPJ spokesman Rhamses Simanjuntak said the water was distributed from the Cilincing Distribution Center, which has a capacity of 3,000 liters per second.

Taufik, who has lived in the area since 1986, said his neighborhood was actually connected to the city water company's network in 1996, receiving their water from the Water Production Installation (IPA) in Buaran, East Jakarta.

However, in 2000, more and more houses were connected to the same pipe from Buaran, and consequently caused Marunda to only receive a trickle of its original supply -- or most of the time, nothing at all, he said.

"We paid for water, but only air came out of our faucets," he said, quoting a neighbor.

Taufik said that for the time being, he was satisfied with the 24-hour, non-stop supply of fresh water.

"We might not object to a new increase in water charges, as long as there's a guarantee that the water will continue to run like this," he said, opening a tap in his front yard to show the new miracle.

However, Taufik's joy at having an adequate supply of water seems meaningless compared to the fate of many Jakarta residents, who have to struggle for even a single drop of clean water.

Currently, TPJ and another private water company, PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja), are facing a lawsuit demanding the companies pay a compensation of Rp 1 billion (US$117,647) for their failure to provide proper services to residents.

Legal counselor Amstrong Sembiring, who is providing legal assistance in the lawsuit, said water distribution might be better without the two private operators, which had only burdened residents with increasing costs but had failed to improve their services.

The case is scheduled to continue today at the Central Jakarta District Court.