Crippled by prolonged water shortages for some time now, residents of Bajo ethnic group'€™s floating village in Torosiaje Laut, Popayato district, Pohuwato regency, Gorontalo, have resorted to purchasing clean water for their daily needs.

Umar Passandre, a local community leader, said residents spent at least Rp 20,000 (US$1.78) to get two barrels of clean water. He said most of the money was used to rent a boat to transport the water.

'€œOne barrel of clean water costs only Rp 5,000 but can be much higher if we want to transport it using a rental boat,'€ Umar told The Jakarta Post.

At least two barrels of clean water should be available to meet the needs of a household for two days. The water, however, is not safe enough to be consumed. Therefore, Torosiaje Laut residents still depend on clean water supplied by local tap water company PDAM in their neighboring village, Torosiaje Jaya, or popularly known as Torosiaje Darat.

The company'€™s water supply has continued to decrease over the last three months as its water production capacity has fallen below the number of consumers.

Up till now, people in the floating village with around 1,400 inhabitants still depend on Popayato and Dudewulo rivers for bathing and washing clothes.

Umar said during the last several days, the local administration had deployed a water truck with a capacity of 4,000 liters of water.

'€œIt can meet the demand for clean water for only around 30 households,'€ he said, adding that at least 12,000 liters of water was needed to secure an adequate supply of water for Torosiaje residents.(ebf)

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