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Aetra users complain of chlorine smell, murky water
Private tap water supplier PT Aetra Air Jakarta has boasted of increased water pressure for its customers thanks to a new water pump it has installed on Jl
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rivate tap water supplier PT Aetra Air Jakarta has boasted of increased water pressure for its customers thanks to a new water pump it has installed on Jl. Raya Bogor, Ciracas, East Jakarta, but many of its customers still complain about high bills and poor quality of tap water.
Nayudi, 59, a resident of Kampung Dua Wetan, East Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post recently that his tap water was in no way clean.
“Aetra’s improvement of its water pressure should be complemented with an improvement of its water quality,” he said.
He said the tap water pipped to his house smelled strongly of chlorine, which made him reluctant to boil it for drinking.
Another resident, Idrus, 59, concurred, saying his tap water was particularly pungent when he turned on the tap for the first time every morning.
Idrus said he was afraid that if he boiled his tap water he would contract gastronomical diseases. Like many of his neighbors, he buys bottled water for drinking, which costs him around Rp 50,000 (US$5.40) per week.
“The water coming from the tap sometimes appears brownish if we haven’t turned it on for three or four days,” he added.
Many residents of Kampung Dua Wetan are customers of Aetra, but most still depend on groundwater for drinking.
Their reasoning is simple: The groundwater in their area is crystal clear and can be used as a backup during blackouts, which usually shut off tap water.
Residents Suparmo and Misphan told the Post they only used tap water for bathing, washing clothes and dishes, and cooking.
Both said the groundwater in the area was much clearer and cleaner than the tap water, adding that they sometimes drank the groundwater.
“When I drink boiled tap water, I taste bitter chlorine in my throat, but we don’t experience that when we drink boiled groundwater,” Misphan said.
Aetra confirmed it chlorinated its water.
“The chlorine smell shouldn’t be a problem, as it indicates that the water is safe and of a good quality,” PT Aetra’s director of business services Rhamses Simanjuntak said.
Firdaus Ali, a hydrologist, concurred, saying chloride ions were needed to kill pathogens in tap
water.
“The strong smell suggests the presence of residual chlorine, which is normal,” he said.
However, Firdaus warned that when mixed with other organic compounds, the chlorine in drinking water could react to form trihalomethane, a toxic chemical that can cause asthma.
“The mixing of chlorine and such compounds could occur if there are leaks in the water network, causing the chlorinated fresh water inside the pipe to react with contaminated sewage,” he added.
Aetra said it was tackling the issue by installing several facilities, including the Kiwi booster pump.
“This service boost should encourage industrial entities to use more tap water, instead of groundwater, as we know many complain of the water supply being insufficient,” Aetra’s operations director Michael R. Fordham said. (tsy)
