P

eople in Jakarta, like those in other parts of the country, have begun to feel the effect of the ongoing drought. Many have complained of difficulties in obtaining clean water for their daily needs. With the worst yet to come, according to forecasts from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) that the dry season will extend until the end of the year, the city'€™s residents will have to do what they can to save water.

Jakarta always suffers water shortages in the dry season, but this year is set to be particularly bad because of the El-Niño phenomenon, which is marked with temperature increases on the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

Wells in the West Jakarta area of Cengkareng and the East Jakarta district of Jatinegara have gone dry, while supplies from the tap water operator have been disrupted. Some are considering deepening their wells and many may follow suit, but such solutions are short-term and in the coming years they may have to dig deeper and deeper.

Increases in population and construction of more high-rise buildings and housing complexes will intensify ground-water exploitation in the city. Worse, the overexploitation will result in land subsidence. A water crisis is looming unless a persistent campaign calling for smart use of water and development of water treatment technology is conducted.

For the city government, the scarcity should trigger a move to evaluate water conservation programs. In fact, the city has enacted a number of regulations related to water conservation, such as the bylaw that requires each building operator to install rainwater storage (sumur resapan) facilities and the ordinance on sustainable use of groundwater. Unfortunately, poor enforcement of the regulations has prevented the programs from having much effect.

The city administration has started to expand existing water reservoirs, such as Pluit dam in North Jakarta, to increase the supply of water, but this will be far from enough without public participation.

The absence of water storage facilities in each house or building, coupled with depleting water catchment areas, will cause rainwater to run into the sea.

The city has a big job on its hands to spare its residents from future water crises. Currently, the city'€™s water resources come mostly from Jatiluhur dam in West Java and to a lesser extend from the Cisadane River in Banten. Waters from the 13 rivers dissecting the city are too dirty to be treated into clean, let alone drinkable, water.

Like Singapore, which is attempting to cut its dependence on water from Malaysia through the NEWater factories, Jakarta has to discover more sustainable sources of clean water. The capital needs to explore technology, if necessary from overseas, that will enable it to convert rivers into sources of clean water and to revive an old plan to develop a deep tunnel able to store a great volume of rainwater.

City residents can, furthermore, contribute significantly to efforts to prevent the water crises by using water wisely.