N

i Wayan Ratni took a brief break from her afternoon jog along the beach to approach a shiny machine recently installed next to the footpath that runs along Sanur's Segara Ayu Beach.

"They said this machine will provide clean drinking water. I just got curious and want to taste the water from this machine," she said.

People flocked around the machine as Ratni inserted a Rp. 500 (5 US cents) coin. Water soon flowed into the plastic mug in her hand and, after drinking it, Ratni made a comment to the gathering mass.

"It tastes like ordinary water. I hope the water will not disturb my stomach afterward," she said.

The machine at Segara Ayu beach is one of two water vending machines installed by the Denpasar Drinking Water Company (PDAM), a regional corporation owned and operated by the city administration. The other machine was installed at Subita street in Sumerta sub-district.

"This is a first of its kind facility on the island. In the near future we will install similar machines at Puputan Badung square in downtown Denpasar and in Puputan Margarana field in Renon," director of PDAM, Putu Gede Mahaputra, said.

Each machine has its own stock of plastic mugs the customers can use, but we encourage them to bring their own water containers. For each Rp. 500 coin inserted, the machine will give 500 milliliters of ready-to-drink water.

"The water is safe to drink because it has gone through seven stages of ultra-filtration and sterilization," Mahaputra stressed, adding that the Foods and Drugs Supervision Body (BPOM) will regularly monitor the quality of the water provided by the machines.

Each unit of the machines cost PDAM around Rp 30 million, which came from the company's corporate social responsibility fund.

"We cooperated with the local communities to carry out this program," he said.

The local communities are tasked with operating and maintaining the machines. In return, the communities receive a share from the machine's revenue and will have a say in deciding the price of the water sold.

"Initially, the machines will be installed at various public spaces to make it easier for the public to access drinking water. In the future, however, we hope these machines will find their way into housing complexes so residents who do not have access to PDAM pipes can get clean drinking water," he said.