A resident of Sirnajati village in Cibarusah district, Bekasi regency, West Java, washes clothes on Thursday (22/6/2019) in the Cipamingkis River. Villagers in Bekasi regency have been finding it increasingly difficult to obtain clean water over the last three months due to drought.
Preparations to anticipate the impact of drought in Jakarta are not optimal, because the capital still relies on city water company PAM Jaya to supply clean water to households.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS— The South Tangerang Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) issued a warning on 20 Aug. that Banten and Jakarta could experience a severe drought in the coming months.
The severe drought is due to the dry season that arrived last month in the two provinces. Emergency (red alert) status has been declared in some parts of Jakarta that have not seen any rain for 61-90 days, including Menteng, Gambir, Kemayoran, Tanah Abang, Tebet, Setiabudi, Pasar Minggu, Halim, Pulogadung, Cipayung, Cilincing, Tanjung Priok, Koja, Kelapa Gading and Penjaringan.
On Thursday, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan presented special guidelines to anticipate severe drought from the prolonged dry season in the capital. Residents have been advised to conserve water.
Jakarta Water Agency head Juaini Yusuf said at least two areas in the capital were prone to drought, North Jakarta and West Jakarta. The agency was coordinating with local mayors and PAM Jaya to draw up a list of any areas that were eligible to a free supply of clean water.
Juaini acknowledged that current anticipatory measures to cope with drought effects were not optimal, because the city still relied on PAM Jaya to supply clean water. As a consequence, he had proposed that water treatment machines be installed at the city’s reservoirs to use as a source of raw water during the dry season.
He added that he had prepared a procurement budget for the machines, but declined to disclose the total number of machines and their cost. The impacts of the drought in Jakarta has already been felt by residents in the northern part of the city, particularly residents of the RT 020 RW 017 residential unit in Penjaringan subdistrict, known as Kampung Gedong Pompa. Penjaringan RT 020/RW 017 head Nurrachman said that piped water had not yet reached Gedong Pompa.
As such, most of the 800 households (around 1,600 people) in the area depended on groundwater for drinking, cooking and bathing. Others purchased clean water throughout the year, as their wells produced brackish water.
Nur\'s family is among those who purchase clean water during the dry season. For the last two months, the water level in the household well has run low so that the pump can no longer draw up any water.
As a result, the family has bought about 160 liters of clean water for Rp 28,000 per jerry can every three days. "That does not include water for washing (clothes)," he said.
Areas in South Tangerang experiencing a water shortage are Koceak village, Kranggan village and the Pesona housing complex in Kademangan, Setu district. Domestic wells had run dry by Thursday. The regional water company’s utility network has not reached the area.
Sardani Naning, 42, a resident of South Tangerang RT 003/RW 001 unit, said his domestic well was not functioning normally. Water can be drawn from the 15-meter well only twice a day, in the morning and the evening. The well water had turned muddy because of the low water level. "The water is dirty. [The well] has been drained, but the water is still muddy. If more water is pumped out, the mud comes up," said Sardani.
East Java
The East Java Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) is searching for locations to drill additional bore wells to anticipate the prolonged drought. Making the additional wells is a long-term solution so that residents will have no problem obtaining clean water during the dry season.
Data at the East Java BPBD shows that 28 regencies/municipalities in the province are experiencing drought. The drought has been declared critical in 24 regions, while 15 regions are in a state of emergency.
"By determining their statuses, the East Java provincial government can provide [appropriate] assistance to the areas," said East Java BPBD acting head Suban Wahyudiono. He said that an area was declared “critical” if the water supply was less than 10 liters per person per day (pppd) and the water source was located more than 3 kilometers from residential homes.
The drought has been declared critical in 556 villages across 180 subdistricts in 24 regions. In normal conditions, the water consumption rate is 50 liters pppd. East Java Deputy Governor Emil Elestianto Dardak said the East Java administration was managing the drought in coordination with residents.
In West Java, Karawang BPBD head Ruchimat said that seven subdistricts were experiencing a shortage of clean water. (JOG/SYA/MEL/DAN/BOW/GIO)
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