Water shortages hit three regencies

Water shortages hit three regencies

Hasrul, The Jakarta Post/Kendari

A mother and child from Mantigola hamlet, Wakatobi regency,
paddled a worn-out sampan until they finally reached the shore of
Horuo village, located on the neighboring island of Horuo, also
in Wakatobi regency.

Following behind them were a number of sampans of the same
size, rowed by other women. The sarongs wound tightly around
their heads appeared not to obstruct their vision. They were
carrying plastic containers and buckets in their sampans, and
were members of the Bajau tribe.

"Our husbands are at sea, so getting water is part of our
work," said Wagela, a housewife from Mantigola hamlet, Kaledupa
subdistrict.

In general, water is the major problem in the archipelagic
Wakatobi regency, including Mantigola hamlet, which is inhabited
by 140 families.

The residents of Mantigola rely for their water on Horuo
village, which has two wells. One of the wells is located in
front of the Horuo village offices. Due to the drought and
excessive use by the villagers, the water flow from the well has
declined.

Horuo village head Muksin said that the water crisis was a
major problem for residents, especially those living in Mantigola
hamlet, about 1 kilometer from Horuo. Residents have to use boats
to travel to the village to fetch water from the village well.

The geographical position of the villages in Wakatobi regency
requires residents to use sampans as a means of transportation
and to transport their necessities, especially in the dry season.

"The water crisis is terrible this dry season. Residents have
to line up to get water," said Muksin. Many residents have to
queue for hours with plastic containers and buckets to get water.

Muksin hopes the local government will resolve the problem by
providing clean water facilities in the area.

Besides Horuo village in Wakatobi, there are at least four
villages in the neighboring district of Soropia, Konawe regency,
that are also facing water shortage, such as Tapulaga, Bajo
Indah, Mekar Jaya and Bokori villages.

Residents here have to queue for water at a well in Tapulaga
village. The distance between one village and another is about
four kilometers on average.

Abidin, a villager of Bajo Indah, said on Friday that there
had been a water shortage for a month now. Residents had to wait
for hours, sometimes into the night, for their turn to get water,
with each person being limited to three one-gallon plastic
containers each.

In addition to Wakatobi and Konawe regencies, a shortage of
potable water was also affecting South Konawe regency, where
about 80 percent of residents lacked access to clean water.

The water problem was acknowledged by the South Konawe regent,
Imran, during a visit to a number of water installations in his
area. Imran said that efforts had been made to build clean water
facilities in several villages with the help of overseas funding
facilitated by a number of non-governmental organizations (NGO)
in Southeast Sulawesi province.

One of the NGOs in Southeast Sulawesi that is concerned with
sanitation and water supply improvement is the Sintesa
organization.

Its director, Dr. Hugua, said that a large number of the
around 1,500 villages in the province lacked clean water and
sanitation facilities, and that because of that, Sintesa would go
all out to push for improved facilities.

"To date, water facilities have been funded
by the German government. Sintesa only facilitates the
disbursement of the grants to the public based on their
proposals," he said.