Management error blamed for shortage of clean water

Poor people's lack of access to clean water and sanitation services remains a serious public health issue, a discussion here concluded Wednesday.

Former United Nations ambassador for Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Erna Witoelar said the lack of access to clean water was caused by unsatisfactory water management.

"The government, through municipal water service providers (PDAMs), has not organized the clean water system in the best way. Lack of investment in clean water is one reason PDAMs give for the limited outreach," Erna said.

"The lack of access to clean water services has seriously affected poor people and sparked health concerns."

Erna was speaking at the discussion "Increasing Access to Clean Water for the Poor" conducted by the Environmental Services Program of USAID and Tempo Group.

She said water quality in the country had fallen because of environmental damage and global warming.

About 76.2 percent of the 52 rivers in Bali, Java, Sulawesi and Sumatra are highly polluted by organic pollutants, while the other 11 rivers are polluted by ammonium particles, she said.

According to Health Ministry data, each year 50 out of every 1,000 infants born in Indonesia die from diarrheal diseases.

"Factories, families and people in the street dump their waste into rivers without proper treatment, while thousands of impoverished families across the country rely on river water for drinking, bathing, cooking," Erna said .

"Polluted water contains Escherichia coli bacteria, which can cause health problems such as diarrhea, and heavy metal pollutants that lead to health problems affecting the organs and nervous system.

"Good drinking water is clear, odorless, free from silt, metals or contaminating organisms -- a requirement the PDAMs have yet to achieve."

Erna said the unchecked dumping of waste had caused widespread pollution in rivers across the country.

Piped water is accessible to 30.8 percent of households in Indonesian cities and to 9 percent of those in rural areas, according to the 2007 MDG Report published by the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).

The head of waste and drainage at Bappenas, Oswar Mungkasa, said several factors contributed to the lack of access to clean water.

"Poor people mostly live in slum areas, which are illegal, and the government doesn't provide services to those areas," Oswar said.

"Besides that, it's hard for the government to install residential water connections because people can't always afford monthly water bills. They tend to buy water daily from mobile traders."

But according to a water and sanitation consultant from the World Bank, Jim Woodcock, the government is able to install household water connections for poor people.

"Based on my own study, poor people could save up to 12 percent of their earnings with household water connections. I believe they could pay the bills if the government allowed them to pay weekly or daily," Woodcock said.

"The most important thing is for people to set out to help themselves get clean water and sanitation services. People can also work with private companies or NGOs." (trw)
 

Post Date : 19 Juni 2008