Until a few years ago, the majority of Ngaglik residents in Sukun subdistrist, Malang, East Java, disposed of their human waste in the Sukun River because of a severe lack of proper sanitation facilities, especially at home
ntil a few years ago, the majority of Ngaglik residents in Sukun subdistrist, Malang, East Java, disposed of their human waste in the Sukun River because of a severe lack of proper sanitation facilities, especially at home.
Bambang Soeyarso, a local community leader, said only 20 percent of the total 350 families in Ngaglik had a toilet in their home.
However, the toilets are not connected to a septic tank and instead dumps the human waste directly into the river.
Sulastri, 49, a resident who lives on the Sukun riverbank, said villagers had grown accustomed to relieving themselves in makeshift toilets built along the river.
She pointed out that even until around 15 years ago, people had bathed and washed their laundry in the river.
Sulastri admitted, however, that the habit had raised concerns over pollution.
“Sometimes we talk about the condition of the river because of the domestic waste pollution,” she said.
Knowing that the river has become polluted, villagers started to abandon their habit of bathing and washing their clothes in the river and shifted to water supplies provided by the local tap water company, albeit only for washing and bathing.
They kept the makeshift toilets, mostly because they could not afford to install a permanent toilet at home.
Installing a proper toilet is estimated to cost Rp 3 million (US$205), excluding the budget for a septic tank. Furthermore, most villagers did not have the space in their home for a toilet.
Aware of the issue, the local administration initiated a program called 100-0-100 in 2015, which aims to achieve 100 percent coverage of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities, and to eradicate slums,
It includes building public toilets and other supporting facilities to keep villagers away from the river.
The Malang administration also developed a communal waste management installation (IPAL) to process waste from the public toilets.
“We’re happy to have the facilities and that we don’t have to be worried about [being affected by polluted water],” Sulastri said.
The 100-0-100 program has gained the attention of the World Bank, which donated Rp 2 billion to support the program.
“The villagers were involved in all the work, starting from the design of the sanitation channel and the IPAL, which comes with bio-filter septic tanks designed according to the village’s topography,” Bambang said, adding that they had been working hard to finish the project.
By involving residents, Bambang hoped to instill in them a sense of belonging as they are expected to continue their roles in maintaining the facilities.
Five bio-filter septic tanks with the capacity of 5,000 liters each will be built along the village’s main road.
The project is expected to be completed by December this year.
“We expect to use the facilities soon. We hope we can reduce water pollution in our neighborhood,” Bambang said.
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