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.