Water Crisis Draws Serious Attention From City Council

BERITAJAKARTA.COM — 5/18/2010 8:41:20 PM Legislators from Jakarta City Council (DPRD) have highlighted seriously the water crisis recently experienced by most of Jakarta residents. The city council does not want the incident to happen again in the future. "We received many complaints from the public related to the water crisis and the lack of good service from the clean water operators,” said a member of Democratic Party Faction at City Council, Ahmad Hussein Alaydrus, Tuesday (5/18). Husein stated that the operators should improve their quality services by following the rules and regulations. In particular, Husein referred to PT Pam Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) that serves the distribution of clean water to the south and west areas of Jakarta. In addition to the clean water crisis that occurred some time ago, residents of West Jakarta have also complained of the quality of water supply which is below the standard. Such a problem is suspected due to the poor quality of pipelines. "We hope they use high-quality pipelines," Husein asserted. Husein added that the quality aspect must be taken into consideration in the pipeline use. The implementation must be done through an open tender in order to obtain partners that really meet the qualifications. Thus, the practice of collusion in the pipeline procurement can be minimized so that the clean water quality can later be guaranteed. "The operators must open the citizens’ access in water management as wide as possible," Husein continued. Meanwhile, the Chairman of Golkar Party Faction at Jakarta City Council, Ramadhani Prya asked the two private clean water operators PT Palyja and PT Aetra Air to anticipate any possible water crisis in the future. Currently, the water distribution in the capital is divided into two areas. PT Palyja serves the south and western parts of Jakarta, while PT Aetra Air provides water supply to east and north areas of Jakarta. According to Prya, water services in Jakarta have yet to be in accordance with the Cooperation Agreement made in 1998. The agreement stated that the operators provide clean water which is feasible for consumption. However, the target has not been realized yet. Prya agreed with the proposal of using the East Flood Canal (BKT) as a raw water source reserve. "With the presence of the raw water source reserve, then there is no reason anymore for the operators to dodge," he said. Meanwhile, Head of Palyja Public Relation, Meyritha Maryanie denied the allegation of using low-quality pipelines. She said that the installed pipelines had met the standards. "We are a company that manages the Suez Canal. How could we use low-quality pipelines," stated Meyritha. According to her, the current problem does not lie on new pipeline joints, but the old pipelines already aged in decades, making them rusty and dirty. "Therefore, the produced water basically ready to drink, when arrives at the customers’ houses, has undergone decline in quality," she explained. A similar opinion was expressed by the President Director of PT Aetra Air Jakarta, Sjahril Japarin. Old pipelines are the main factor affecting the water quality. During the water production process at the water treatment installation, all germs contained in the water are destroyed. "To get the clean water quality which is consumable, then the old pipelines must be replaced," Syahril concluded.
Translator: halim

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