Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink for evacuees

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Mon, January 21 2013,


Getting clean water can be a nightmare for flood victims. Luckily, some of them are able to enjoy just what they need.

Duarsih, 54, bathed her 2-year-old grandson in clean water near her shelter in Kampung Pulo, East Jakarta, on Sunday.

The water came from a truck that takes dirty water from the Ciliwung River and processes it using micro-hydraulic technology, a cooperative project between the Public Works Ministry, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI).

The truck can provide up to 500,000 liters every day to Kampung Pulo evacuees for drinking and washing.

Another truck with a capacity of 4,000 liters travels around the capital supplying clean water to those in need.

Duarsih said that clean water was exactly what she and her neighbors needed.

Pumps at their houses, even if accessible, pump only dirty water that was good for neither washing nor drinking.

“I prefer buying water to drink because my grandson’s health is vulnerable,” she said.

“But thank God, clean water supplies are in good order here. We can use the water from the truck to bathe and wash our clothes.”

Similarly to Duarsih, Lina, 49, was pleased that water aid was going well.

“People will be stressed if they can’t get clean water,” she said. “Just look at us here.”

Water may be in sufficient supply for Kampung Pulo evacuees, but many affected Jakartans have yet to receive anything despite claims by the central and local governments that everything has been properly provided.

Some 1,400 residents in two neighborhoods in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, resorted to setting up their own public kitchen.

Meanwhile, several hundreds of flood victims from Kebon Melati have been camped out in the basement of the Grand Indonesia shopping mall after water swamped their homes on Thursday.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) data shows that over 40,000 people had been evacuated as of Sunday. Around 250,000 people have been adversely affected by the disaster, while the death toll in Greater Jakarta reached 27 on Sunday.

Private water company PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja), which operates in West, South and North Jakarta, resumed services on Sunday to their 350,000 customers after being idle for three days following contamination of their water source and pipelines.

According to Palyja, water supplies for Jakarta had run at 90 percent, but some areas in North Jakarta were still having problems.

City-owned tap-water company PT PDAM president director Sri Widayanto Kaderi said on Saturday that Thursday’s flood had drowned a generator at the Mega Bekasi Hypermall and oil had leaked into the nearby dam in Bekasi, east of Jakarta.

“The mall management channeled the contaminated floodwaters to the river, which is one of Jakarta’s main water resources,” he said.

“The water operators understood the problem only on Friday evening and, by that time, it was too late to stop contamination of their processing centers. So, operations were forced to come to a stop.”

Palyja spokesperson Meyritha Maryanie said the pipes supplying water to the city were flushed on Saturday to clean them oil, and were now ready to resume services.

Another private water company, PT Aetra Air Jakarta, operates in North, East and Central Jakarta, with more than 240,000 customers.

Customers can contact a 24-hour PDAM hotline at 5704250 (ext. 1105) for flood-related questions