Jakarta needs water factory and pipeline: Governor

Governor Fauzi Bowo said Wednesday that Jakarta needs a new water factory at the Jatiluhur reservoir and a big pipeline connecting the dam in the West Java town to the city water operator’s plants.

“The water supply is becoming scarce. We are now buying tapwater from the Tangerang Water Company. The quality of water from the Jatiluhur reservoir [in Purwakarta] is declining. Therefore we concluded that Jakarta needs to build a new water factory in Jatiluhur,” he said.

He said that the water factory and the pipeline will provide tap water instead of raw water from Jatiluhur.

Half of the city’s clean water supply is from Jatiluhur dam in West Java, 80 kilometers from the city. It is channeled through West Tarum Barat canal into water treatment facilities owned by the two existing water operators, PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) and Aetra Air Jakarta.

Fauzi said that the cost of construction could be between Rp 1.7 trillion and Rp 3 trillion.

“We will complete the study on the construction in 2010 and hopefully start the project by 2011.”

In July, the City Water Regulatory Body [BR PAM] had suggested that the city build a pipeline to avoid contamination from intersecting rivers.