Residents distrust filtered water

Luh De Suriyani ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Tue, 04/14/2009 2:56 PM  |  Bali

Many residents in Denpasar's crowded Seniga housing complex on Jl. Kertapura are still reluctant to use water from recently built filtration tanks as drinking water, preferring to buy bottled water instead.

"The problem comes from the fact that those water filtration tanks are concrete-made. Many people do not believe the water originating from that uninteresting-looking tank is drinkable," said resident Maryono, adding the water tanks could be painted in various colors to make them more attractive.

The housing complex is far from an ideal residence for hundreds of households. Poorly designed houses are built very close to each other with inadequate ventilation systems and few gardens.

"We have to live in such undesirable conditions, fighting for limited space and water sources," said Maryono.

As houses did not have access to clean potable water provided by the municipal water management company (PDAM), some households started building their own filtration units for drinking water while others exploited the groundwater by building wells.

Unfortunately, the quality of the ground water in the area is very low.

"The water *taken from the ground* is dirty and smelly. More importantly, the water has been contaminated by various bacteria and probably other toxic contaminants that may affect one's health," Maryono added.

I Gusti Ketut Merta, another resident, explained he had drilled a groundwater well some 45 meters deep but only found dirty water.

"We cannot use the water for our daily needs. We cannot even use it for bathing or washing clothes," Merta said.

He buys a gallon of bottled water (around 19 liters) every two days for drinking and cooking. Each gallon of water costs him around Rp 3,500.

Therefore in mid-2008, to provide Seniga residents with clean water, the Balifokus Foundation - an NGO dealing with environmental and sanitation programs - introduced a Bio-Sand Filter (BSF) household water filtration tank.

The BSF system, according to Wikipedia, was first developed by Dr. David Manz, a professor and researcher at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in l990.

Most of the BSF water filtration units are built using concrete, with gravel and sand layered inside the filter and a collection pipe at the base of the filter.

Balifokus and the Seniga housing complex community built 17 of those BSF water treatment tanks as pilot projects.

A Balifokus study showed the BSF system could eliminate around 95 percent of coliform and E.coli bacteria, around 100 percent of protozoa as well as between 50 to 90 percent of organic toxins contained in unfiltered water.

However the construction of the BSF filtration units in this housing complex did not run too smoothly.

Subilan said he used the water from the BSF filtration system for cooking and bathing only.

"I just feel I am not ready to drink water from the tank," he said.

Balifokus said around 60 percent of Denpasar's disadvantaged population have to buy bottled water for drinking and cooking. Every family spends between Rp 50,000 (US$5) and Rp 120,000 a month for potable water.

Indonesia's 2004 socio-economic survey revealed only 47 percent of the country's population of 220 million have access to potable water.

In 2015, only around 56 percent of Indonesians are expected to have access to potable water based on current conditions, while Indonesia's target under the Millennium Development Goals is 76 percent.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.