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USAID paves the way to clean water
A USAID microfinancing solution called the Environmental Services Program (ESP) has enabled low-income families in Gang Langgar Dukur, Surabaya, to afford access to clean water after 25 years of relying on contaminated groudwater
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A USAID microfinancing solution called the Environmental Services Program (ESP) has enabled low-income families in Gang Langgar Dukur, Surabaya, to afford access to clean water after 25 years of relying on contaminated groudwater.
"I'm so happy. Even my grandson teased me, saying, 'wow, now grandma can have fairer skin by bathing with piped-water'," laughed 60-year-old Aminatus.
Her neighbor, Basuki, said she had never expected she could offer her TV set as collateral in obtaining a loan of Rp 2.7 million (US$287) to install a water pipeline in her house.
"A banker asked me for collateral. I told him the truth, I had nothing but a TV set. Within just two weeks I was connected to piped water," she said.
The neighborhood's new water pipeline is the latest of 3,500 connections facilitated by USAID-ESP. The program has reached 10 regencies and municipalities, including Surabaya, Sidoarjo and Malang in East Java and Bandung, Subang, Bogor and Sukabumi in West Java.
The cost of a new connection ranges from Rp 1 million to Rp 3 million per customer.
However, the microfinancing scheme has enabled low-income households to pay back their loans in installments over up to two years.
"Besides health issues concerning the use of groundwater, we've been convincing people on how it is more economical to use piped water," ESP municipal finance specialist Poppy Lestari told The Jakarta Post recently.
She said most residents without access to piped water needed to buy drinking water from mobile vendors. However, water sold by vendors can be four to 20 times higher than the tariffs set by tap water companies.
"From our research, each household could spend some Rp 100,000 per month to buy water from mobile vendors. A 20-liter jerry can of water costs Rp 5,000," Poppy said.
"Meanwhile, subscribing to tap water companies only costs some Rp 25,000 per month for 10-cubic-meter of water supply."
She said the lack of access to clean water was down to the water companies' failure to expand their connections in urban and rural areas.
"Due to management inefficiency, tap water operators are suffering from financial losses. They are unable to fund investment to improve and expand access to services."
"On the other hand, consumers will remain unwilling to pay more for water until the service is improved.
"Here's where the problem begins: Improved services are impossible without more money, while more money is impossible without improved services," she added.
Indonesian Consumers Foundation chairwoman Husna Zahir said the public had become the victim of money making politics.
"While privatization is good for efficiency, it should also be considered that the provision of a basic need like water lies within the responsibility of the government," she said.
"In many cases, consumers pay for water while its quality and quantity are still poor. For example, many of them complained the tap water service was available only during certain hours in a day," she added.
Data compiled by the Drinking Water and Environment Restoration (AMPL) Network shows that 30.8 percent of people in urban areas in the country have access to piped water, and 9 percent in rural areas.
The data shows that access to water is increasing in rural areas and decreasing in urban areas.
