A

s we all know, Jakarta has a lot of problems. Problems that have been ongoing for decades, yet apparently there are still no solutions for them. One of the problems that Jakarta is facing is the lack of clean water and poor sanitation.

In Jakarta, only 50 percent of the population has access to clean piped water. Others, who aren'€™t so lucky, have no access to clean water, forcing them to wash their clothes and bathe in murky and grey water.

Research shows that only 57 percent of housing has access to clean and safe toilets. This has been occurring for so long that the people have gotten used to it.

With a daily income of around Rp 20,000 (US$1.60), the people in these areas are also very poor. The money they earn needs to be spent on clean water for drinking and cooking, which accounts for half of their daily income. However, besides buying water, people have developed new ways of getting it, like relying on groundwater for example.

In fact, 75 percent of Jakarta'€™s citizens rely on groundwater. Nevertheless, research shows that 90 percent of the water is contaminated with bacteria and hard metals. Because of this, 120 million cases of disease are reported and 50,000 premature deaths occur annually.

If you think that the governor could solve this problem then why has it not improved after so long? I mean look at Singapore. It'€™s just a small island surrounded by the ocean! But they can get access to clean water easily from their taps. Why can'€™t we do that? Why can'€™t Indonesia do that? I mean, we have rivers and other freshwater resources, why don'€™t we use that? Why can'€™t we be like Singapore?

If you say that our rivers are polluted we could always filter the water. A family could build their own water filtration system. With only a large plastic bag, some rope, gravel, sand, charcoal and rubber bands, you can get free clean water. All you have to do is cut a hole on both sides of the plastic bag and tie one of the ends with the rubber band.

Then the other end should be tied up in the four corners with rope to hang from something sturdy, like a tree. Now, all you need to do is fill the bag with a layer of charcoal, then sand, then some gravel, and another layer of sand, and finally another layer of gravel.

It looks like a small step but think of it! If every family in a village could build this simple filtration system, they could reuse the murky and polluted water for more important things like washing or bathing.

If all of us as the citizens of Jakarta could work together, we could conquer all the problems our capital city is facing. Together, let'€™s banish water scarcity and sanitation problems, for a better future and a better Jakarta.

Clara Ann
Tangerang