Water crisis is back

Water crisis is back

In the first half of this year many Jakartans believed they
were blessed because the rain kept falling. On many occasions in
the past, heavy rains stopped at the beginning of the year. This
year, people were convinced there would be no serious water
crisis. But unfortunately they were wrong.

Water shortages which hit Jakarta almost every year have also
not spared the city this year. Many wells in some parts of
Jakarta have already dried up. In other parts of the city, people
have failed to find water when digging new wells.

Officials have warned the public of the advance of a prolonged
dry season. Such a long dry spell will not only affect crops in
the provinces but will also affect Jakartans' daily water
supplies.

In fact, a severe water crisis has not hit the capital since
the 1950s after the state-owned clean water project was opened in
Pejompongan in 1954. But with the rapid growth of the city's
population the ugly problem has returned. The population problem
is not only a result of squatters who have left their rural
poverty to flock to Jakarta, but also members of the privileged
elite who build their houses on water catchment areas or erect
artesian wells which are able to extract a greater quantity of
water from the ground.

To face the coming crisis, Jakarta Governor Surjadi Soedirdja
has reminded people of the importance of saving water during
this year's dry spell and urged middle and upper-class people to
show their solidarity.

The governor urged people to use water as efficiently as
possible and told members of the middle and upper class who
usually wash their cars three times a day "once should be enough
for now". It is ironic that while some people are thirsty, others
have swimming pools in their backyards.

The call to reduce water usage was made due to the limited
capability of the city-owned water company 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. Currently, the city water company's customers
represent only 40 percent of the city's 9.8 million people. But
the company has promised to help people overcome the crisis by
supplying them with drinking water.

But it is not yet certain whether the gubernatorial appeal
will produce any results since social solidarity here is very
low. Many people turn a blind eye to regulations, much less an
appeal.

The other side of the long dry season is the higher incidence
of fire in many slum areas. Fires which occur in the dry season
are usually more difficult to extinguish because fire departments
are also affected by the water shortage.

While the authorities' actions are welcomed, it looks more
like a symptomatic approach to the problem with no long-term
program in place to end the latent crisis. The city's water
catchment areas are reduced each year with the authorities' full
knowledge. Senayan, in the south of the city, should remain a
green area instead of being turned into a concrete jungle.

Many people have criticized the city administration for
letting areas initially allocated for water catchment or public
parks, be changed into public facilities, offices or gas
stations.

But it not easy to find a solution to this problem. Some
project developers have powerful connections with power holders.
It's ironic that the governor himself recently joined the public
complaint about the "disappearance" of many water catchment
areas, saying that most developers tend to view the city's green
areas as target sites for housing and shopping complexes.

It's a tragic irony that along with Jakarta's water supply,
social responsibility has also dried up.