Amid water crisis, new treatment touted as the safe, cheap answer

Sumber:The Jakarta Post - 06 Februari 2006
Kategori:Air Minum
Few Jakartans have access to safe drinking water. The majority risk their and their family's health by using water from rivers, wells and lakes, which the Jakarta Environment Management Agency (BPLHD) has declared contaminated by disease-causing organisms or pathogens.

Only 12 percent of the city's 8.4 million population has access to relatively cleaner water distributed by city water company PT PAM Jaya.

The fuel price increase last October caused potable water to become more expensive for low-income households, since all water needs to be boiled first before it is safe to drink.

With the administration mulling increasing tap water prices by 17.32 percent, it appears that water will become an even more pricey commodity.

In response to the urgent demand for safe drinking water, the Aman Tirta consortium, working with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has developed a water additive.

Air Rahmat is a liquid 1.25 percent sodium hypochlorite solution, originally developed as part of the Safe Water Systems program of the U.S.-based Centers for Disease Control.

From different letters of its name (rahmat is Indonesian for blessing), the treatment is touted as "inexpensive, easy and healthy".

Added to an appropriate quantity of water and left to stand to 30 minutes, it helps reduce microbiobiological indicators such as fecal coliform, thermotolerant coliforms and e. coli -- indicating the presence of pathogens in the water -- and deactivate most of the common microorganisms that cause diarrhea, cholera, dysentery and typhoid fever.

"Field tests show an 85 percent reduction on the risk of diarrhea, it helps to reduce household expenditure on kerosene and firewood, and it is time saving as the time used for boiling water can now be used, if nothing else, to rest," USAID's Basic Human Services director Herbie Smith said in a presentation at the office of the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare recently.

The Aman Tirta consortium comprises PT Tanshia Consumer Products as producer, PT Dos Ni Roha as distributor, LOWE Worldwide for marketing and advertising, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for communications and CARE International Indonesia for community mobilization.

Aman Tirta's deputy director Rieneke Rolos said that besides being used in 25 other countries in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, in Indonesia some 100,000 bottles of the product were distributed in West Timor after severe flooding there in 2004, and it is currently in use in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam in the aftermath of the tsunami.

A 100 milliliter bottle of the treatment -- costing Rp 4,000 (about 43 U.S. cents) -- can treat about 600 liters of water, enough for a family of five to drink for one month.

Rieneke said that at the cost of only Rp 6.5 per liter, it was much cheaper than the Rp 102 per liter spent on boiling water (based on the average cost of kerosene at Rp 2,800 per liter), the Rp 175 a liter for refilled water (based on the price of refilled water at Rp 3,500 per 20-liter bottle), and the Rp 450 per liter spent on leading bottled waters (based on the price of a 20-liter bottle at Rp 9,000).

"The product only works to kill disease-bearing bacteria, it does not improve the quality of water itself, so relatively clean water is still needed," Aman Tirta's communication and marketing program officer Frieda Subrata said, explaining that clean water means water without odor, taste or color.

She said that once Air Rahmat is added, the water will be safe for consumption for at least three days without special treatment, but storing the water in plastic containers with narrow mouth, lid and a spigot can help prevent contamination.

Aman Tirta will be sold in small grocery stores, minimarkets, and through non-governmental organizations, first in Banten including Tangerang and Serang, and North Sumatra, then later in Central and West Java, East Java and Jakarta. Tantri Yuliandini

Post Date : 06 Februari 2006