| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Aug 25 (ANTARA) - It might sound too sarcastic to say that the on-going drought has forced locals to consume dirty, foul-smelling water from mud holes, but this is the reality for hundreds of residents of a West Java village. Since early this month, hundreds of residents of Argasunya village, Harjamukti sub-district, Cirebon district, West Java, have been forced to draw water from puddles in the Kalijaga River, which is drying up. Residents of the village have had to consume muddy water because the water supply from the regional government's tap water company PDAM has not yet reached them. The river, which has serves as a water source for villagers during the rainy season, is now dry, without even a stream. "The PDAM facility has not yet been installed in this village," Harun told a group of newsmen. According to Harun, many parts of Kalijaga River upstream areas are used as fishponds, leaving the down stream areas to run empty and form wallows with muddy water. Yati, another resident of Argasunya, said she was compelled to consume dirty water from the river's puddles because she had no choice. In addition, it is difficult for local residents, whose income is low, to afford costly PDAM water. She only hoped that the regional government of Cirebon city would supply them with clean water for free so that the residents could stop consuming dirty water. Chairman of the Cirebon City Regional Legislative Assembly (DPRD) Nasrudin Azis admitted that some of Cirebon city residents faced a water scarcity problem because they were not able to receive the PDAM supply. He also expressed hope that PDAM would install water supply facilities in the village. Residents of Cirebon's neighboring district of Tasikmalaysa also faced water supply problems from the PDAM. Tasikmalaya's PDAM is even running short of raw water from a number of its water sources due to the current drought. He added that his company was forced to carry out rotational water supply cuts so it would be able to provide water to all of its customers. "The water volumes are depleted during the drought so that supply to customers is being hampered. Some locals have complained of having obtained no water," Masdiat noted. Masdiat explained that PDAM Tirta Sukapura's water supply has recently dropped from 400 to about 380 liters per second. He said that the depleting water volumes reduced water pressure in higher locations so the supply to customers living in higher places was hampered. Moreover, people living in communities located at higher elevations are the first to feel the impact of dryness, as their wells empty. This is what happened to residents in a number of villages in the valley of Mount Merapi in Boyolali district, Central Java. Since the dry spell began, villagers in Musuk sub-district, for example, have suffered from water scarcities. Water sources such as wells and springs have dried up. A villager, 32-year old Ajik from Sruni hamlet, said that villagers now have to purchase water. But those who could not afford it were forced to go to another low-lying village, where water in some wells and other sources is still running. "The water in some springs in the village still run, but it is far away so we also have to buy it and bring it with a tank truck. The price for a 6,000 liter truck tank is Rp75,000," Ajik said. Besides Sruni, other villages that suffered from water scarcities in Boyolali district included Mriyan, Sangup and Lanjaran. Villagers from Lanjaran have to descend a steep cliff in order to receive water from a neighboring village. But Suganto of Lanjaran said water has also become difficult to obtain in the neighboring village in the past several days. People outside Java, such as in Bali, Kalimantan and Sumatra, also endured the same fate. In Selisihan Village, Klungkung district, Bali, for example, at least 270 families have faced shortages of water in the past three months after the tap water from PDAM stopped running. "To meet our daily need for water, we have to take it from a river about 800 meters away from our settlement," Selisihan Village Head Wayan Dana said. Wayan added that Selisihan Village officials have reported the halting of the tap water. "But our report was not seriously responded to," Wayan said, adding that in the past a customer was late paying his bill, and thereby was fined Rp1 million. He regretted the slow service of the local tap water company. Director of the PDAM for Klungkung district, Gede Darsana, said the tap water supply to Selisihan village stopped running because the water source was located in a hilly area that was difficult to reach. During the ongoing drought, the tap water company also reports that water pressure has been reduced. "Selisihan has the same problem as Payungan, which is situated in hilly areas," Gede said. In the meantime, most of the residents' wells in Pangkalpinang, capital of the Sumatran province of Bangka Belitung, have also dried up. This caused a water crisis in the city. "Many wells have dried up in the past four days," Sumarni, a resident of Gabek Pangkalpinang, said. She noted that many city dwellers have requested help from neighbors whose wells still had water, while others were forced to dig new wells. Also, some residents avoid taking regular baths and washing their clothes. Sumarni said this year's water crisis was worse than last year. "Some wells are completely empty, while last year they still had water which could be collected for taking baths and washing down the water closets," she added. Additionally, in Central Kalimantan, especially in Kota Kuala Kapuas, it is feared that the current dry spell will cause saline water to seep into ground water sources, posing a threat to health. "This can cause outbreaks of diarrhea because the water is no longer suitable for drinking. The salinity of the Kapuas Murung river has exceeded the safety standard level as set by the PDAM," President Director of PDAM Kapuas, Sri Hardjito, said on Friday. The high salinity of the river water, which is the people's main source of water, is endangering people residing along the river banks. "The salinity content of Kapuas Murung river has reached 1.500 ppm, which far exceeds the normal level of 17 ppm. If this is consumed it would cause diarrhea," he said. ***3*** |
Sabtu, 25 Agustus 2012
DROUGHT FORCES VILLAGERS TO DRAW WATER FROM MUD PUDDLES
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