Water purifiers given to quake victims

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Mon, 11/13/2006 12:05 PM

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Bantul

Before the operation of two mobile water purifying machines two months ago, many Jogangan residents in Imogiri, Bantul, were forced to take a bath in a nearby river because their wells had dried up after the May 27 earthquake.

There was a high level of skin infections and diarrhea because the water they used for cooking and bathing was not clean.

Now, however, they have an abundant supply of clean water thanks to an assistance of the water purifying units valued at US$2.15 million from General Electric. The machines, that are in operation on Siluk bridge in Imogiri have the capacity to produce about 3.2 million liters of clean water a day.

""Now there is an abundant supply of water. Many residents not only use the water for drinking but also for taking a bath,"" said Hadianto, the head of the technical team tasked with operating the machines.

Together with six of his team members from Yogyakarta, Hadianto was on standby at the machines, which uses water from the nearby river. The machines, which were being operated on a trial basis for the last two months, were handed over to the local administration Saturday.

Hasto Kristiyanto, GE market development director, said that the two machines were used in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam after the tsunami to supply water for thousands of local residents and volunteers for nearly 10 months.

""Now the machines have been moved to Yogyakarta because earthquake victims are in need of clean water,"" Hasto said, adding that based on his observation, many wells had already dried up. If at all they still contained water it was contaminated with E-coli bacteria or other dangerous substances, he said.

Hasto further said that GE would be responsible for the operation of the machines for the next three months. After that it would be seen if conditions had not changed and they were still needed. If the residents still needed the water, the task of operating the machines would be handed over to the local public works office, he said.

If the residents no longer needed the water, the machines would be kept on standby and could be used at any time if needed, he said.

The purified water is used not only by local residents, but also by people from other districts like Jetis, Pundong and even Gunungkidul.

""I hope the machines can operate here for a long time,"" said Sarinem from Seloharjo in Pundong, about six kilometers from Jogangan.

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