T

he Jakarta administration is considering the construction of self-managed piped-water operations in city districts, especially in areas that cannot be reached by the piped water system.

Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama said at City Hall that he had instructed each municipality to note the areas that have difficulties accessing clean water.

'€œWe will try to construct a small water-treatment plant that will provide clean water to each district or subdistrict,'€ he said.

Ahok said the plan emerged after he learned the city administration would not be able to acquire the shares of PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja), a major private water operators in Jakarta, in the near future, due to an ongoing legal dispute on water privatization.

The Central Jakarta Court ruled in favor of the Coalition of Jakarta Residents Opposing Water Privatization (KMMSAJ) last month, ordering the city-owned water company, PT PAM Jaya, to take over the piped-water service from private operators and end the 17-year cooperation between PAM Jaya and Palyja, as well as with another private firm, PT Air Aetra Jakarta (Aetra).

However, both Palyja and Aetra decided to appeal the decision. Later, the central government also filed an appeal.

The city administration cannot take any action as long as the ruling is in the appeals process.

'€œWe don'€™t know when the ruling will be used to take over the water operation. It could take up to 12 years. We have to think of alternatives for secure access to water,'€ Ahok said.

He said he was afraid the legal dispute would affect the services of both water operations.

'€œThey can also halt the expansion plan. We cannot wait for PAM Jaya to take action, as the performance is tardy,'€ he said.

Since the cooperation began in 1997, only around 60 percent of water needs in Jakarta have been fulfilled. The rest of the residents exploit ground water for daily needs. Many neighborhoods have reported that the quality of groundwater in their areas was declining due to rapid property development.

Ahok said water could be taken from anywhere, including river-water, seawater or even groundwater.

Given the poor quality of water in Jakarta'€™s rivers, he said river-water should only be used for washing or bathing.

'€œThe projects will be handled by the Water Management Agency,'€ he said.

He said the system could also be used to fulfill the water needs of private entities. '€œWe can charge them if they want to use the water,'€ he said.

According to PAM, water currently enters Jakarta at a rate of 18,025 liters per second, while the city needs at least 26,000 liters per second. The demand is predicted to increase to 30,100 liters per second by 2030.

In the past, the Ciliwung River, for example, was the main source of water for the city. However, due to the river'€™s severe level of pollution, the city has been relying mostly on water from the Jatiluhur dam in Purwakarta, West Java.

The plan, however, has drawn criticism.

Executive director of Indonesia Water Supply Association, Subekti, said that small water treatment plants would be more expensive than big ones. '€œIt will require the same amount of capital as the big one, but the capacity will be smaller,'€ he said.

He added that big water operators could impose cheaper water taxes than smaller ones due to their larger size.

Subekti said building a piped water installation to a single cost around Rp 10 million (US$770). That price would increase further, she said, with a smaller treatment plant.

The director the Amrta Institute for Water Literacy, Nila Ardhianie, said Ahok'€™s plan would likely trigger legal disputes.

'€œIf the cooperation between PAM Jaya and both private operators is still valid, they can sue the city administration for executing such a plan,'€ she said, adding that the agreement stipulated that Palyja and Aetra were the only firms allowed to manage piped water in Jakarta.