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ITS helps the poor turn waste water into clean water
Indra Harsaputra , The Jakarta Post , Surabaya | Wed, 09/03/2008 10:49 AM | East Java
Low-income families living along the heavily-polluted Kalimas River, which divides the densely-populated city of Surabaya, can now live healthier thanks a new system which recycles household waste into clean, potable water.
Invented by Surabaya's November 10 Institute of Technology (ITS), several of the new system's wastewater treatment units have been installed in Sukolilo and Kejawan sub-districts.
Thanks to the installation, local people, who are mostly construction workers with daily incomes of Rp 20,000 (US$2.1) per day, no longer need to use the river water for bathing, drinking and cooking.
"The water is really clean and not odorous. We don't just use it for bathing but we also use it for drinking and cooking," elderly resident Khadir told The Jakarta Post recently.
Residents, according to Khadir, have sent representatives to consult with the local branch of the Indonesian Ulemas Council encouraging them to issue an edict confirming that the recycled water is rightful.
Environmental activist Satryo Wiwieko, who has had a unit installed in his house, said his family had been using the recycled water for the past eight months.
"We find it far more efficient than subscribing to water from the tap water company," Satryo said.
Each unit costs Rp 500,000, but it can be used forever. Two or three households can also share one.
Once all houses have installed their own, residents will no longer need to dump their waste into the river. This will decrease their risk of disease and at the same time they will be preserving the environment, Satryo said.
The unit consists of an open tank, 640 centimeters by 130 centimeters and 150 centimeters deep, which is divided into four connected sections.
The first section homogenizes and equalizes the wastewater. The second contains gravels and coconut sashes to separate the grease. The third contains sand, active carbons and zeolith to filter and neutralize the water. The last functions as a reservoir for the clean water.
Clean water has been a chronic problem in the city for a long time. Low-income families have inadequate purchasing power due to constantly increasing prices of fuels, basic commodities, education and health care, making it difficult for them to pay for water from tap water company Jasa Tirta (PDAM).
Apart from the high tariff it charges, the company also has difficulty in meeting the increasing demand for potable water in line with the city's rapid population growth.
PDAM predicts the city would face a potable water deficit by 2025 and the city's population would increase from its present 2.6 million to 3.04 million.
The demand for water will increase from the current 39.62 cubic meters per second to 47.05 cubic meters per second.
The water crisis has caused poor residents living along the bank of Kalimas River to consume river water for bathing, drinking and cooking regardless if it has been polluted by 75.5 tons of waste per day, 86 percent of which comes from industries.
The tolerable limit of pollution in the river is 30 tons of waste per day which allows it to be suitable for drinking water.
The upper branch of the 41-kilometer river flows through the regencies of Mojokerto, Sidoarjo and Gresik, home to thousands of industries which dump their waste into the river.
A survey conducted by the Environmental Ministry in 2005 revealed the river had been polluted by E. Coli bacteria.
The bacterial content, particularly in the Karang Pilang and Ngagel sections, had reached 64,000 cells per 100 millimeter while the acceptable limit is only 1,000 cells per 100 millimeter.
According to data from the city's Ecological Observation and Wetlands Conservation, out of 46 industries, four are the worst polluters. They are PT Adiprima Suraprinta, publicly listed PT Surabaya Agung Kertas, PT Surabaya Mekaboks and PT Suparma.
The pollution has caused between 2 and 4 percent of the city's children to be suffering from cancer, according to Dr. Sutomo, General Hospital, because they have consumed water from the river.
In maximizing the utilization of Kalimas River, the provincial government has barred all industries from dumping their waste into the river while ITS has invented a new system to manage the wastewater and recycle it into potable water.
