The Jakarta Globe, January 19, 2013,
Water operator PAM Lyonnaise Jaya has cut its clean water supply to 250,000 customers in Jakarta, after its reservoir was contaminated by oil as a result of the floods.
The private company, known as Palyja, said the supply had been cut since Friday evening after they discovered that engine oil had contaminated its reservoir in Bekasi.
“To protect the health of our customers and production facilities, Palyja decided yesterday night to temporarily halt operations of the water installation facility in Pejompongan [in West Jakarta],” Palyja spokeswoman Meyritha Maryanie said in a press statement on Saturday.
“As an impact of this disruption, approximately 62 percent or 250,000 of our customers are not receiving their normal clean water supplies,” she added.
Palyja, which manages the western half of Jakarta, said supplies were also cut in Slipi, Petamburan, Tomang and Grogol in West Jakarta; Bendungan Hilir, Menteng, Manggarai and Kebon Sirih in Central Jakarta; and in Ancol, Penjaringan, Pluit and Muara Angke in North Jakarta.
Palyja also reported reduced water supplies for areas such as Kalideres and West Cengkareng in West Jakarta and Kapuk Muara and Pejagalan in North Jakarta.
State-owned water operator PDAM Jaya, which is responsible for Jakarta’s piped water system, admitted that the Bekasi reservoir had been contaminated by oil after a generator in a shopping mall in the West Java town was inundated by water.
“The management of Mega Bekasi Mall dumped the floodwater into the Bekasi dam, which supplies unprocessed water for Palyja and Aetra, two clean water operators working with PDAM Jaya,” PDAM Jaya president director Sri Widayanto Kaderi said on Saturday.
He added that the mall was forced to channel the water into the dam because drainage systems nearby had over flooded and had failed to function. As of Saturday, the drainage system was in use again.
“But the water remains contaminated. We’re waiting for Perum Jasa Tirta II to clean it,” Sri said, referring to a state-owned firm in charge of the reservoir.
Aetra, a private-owned water firm managing the eastern half of the capital, has yet to issue a statement concerning the situation.
za 19 jan 2013 - 23:25