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enants of two low-cost rental apartment blocks or rusunawa have had to shell out a lot of money to buy clean water because the water in the city administration'€™s property, much touted by Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama as a solution to housing and flooding problems, is not fit for use.

Winarti, a 40-year-old mother, showed off an arm covered with rashes to prove her point that the water in the Daan Mogot apartments in West Jakarta is of very poor quality.

'€œThe water is greasy and red-colored. My hair is falling out and I have skin rashes after using the water for showering,'€ she said, adding that the water sometimes contained pinworms.

Winarti said that she was forced to buy water for cooking and drinking because she was not sure that the apartment water was safe for consumption.

'€œThe price is quite expensive. It is Rp 3,000 [22 US cents] per 20-liter jerry can for ground water and Rp 6,000 per gallon for drinking water,'€ she said, adding that her family used at least two jerry cans and one gallon a day, meaning that they had to shell out at least Rp 360,000 per month for water.

Winarti said that the expense for the water was too much for her family. '€œTherefore, we still use the tap water for showering but we have to rinse with cleaner water afterwards,'€ she said.

Winarti, who was relocated from near Duri Station in West Jakarta six months ago, said that she and her husband also needed to be thrifty because their income was not as big as before.

'€œWe used to sell beverages at Duri Station. It was easier to find customers there,'€ she said, adding that she now operated the same business on the first floor of her apartment block.

The neighborhood unit head at Block D, Sentot, said many residents had expressed their complaints about the quality of the water.

Sentot said that officials from various agencies, including the Health Agency and the Housing and Administration Buildings Agency, had come to check the water. '€œHowever, we have not seen any solution to the problem,'€ he said.

Aryo Djojohadikusumo, a member of the House of Representatives whose constituents are from West Jakarta, North Jakarta and Thousand Islands, slammed the city administration for allowing the same issue to occur in Muara Baru in Jakarta'€™s north.

Aryo said that residents needed to spend extra money to buy water to meet their daily needs.

'€œThe lack of facilities, including clean water, in Muara Baru is a harsh slap in the face for the city administration,'€ he said in a statement.

Muara Baru apartment tenants use dirty water from Pluit Dam, treated by a plant provided by PAM Jaya.

Jakarta Housing and Administration Buildings Agency head Ika Lestari Aji denied that the water was dirty. '€œIt used to be dirty but now it is clean,'€ she said.

Ika said private water operator PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) should have made a tap water connection to the apartment.

Separately, Palyja spokeswoman Meyritha Maryanie said that Palyja did not plan to establish a connection to Daan Mogot while the one in Muara Baru had been handled by PAM Jaya, as agreed in a contract between the two.

'€œWe have a shortage in water supply. Hence, it is unlikely for us to add a connection there,'€ she said.

Many low-income residents in Jakarta spend a significant amount of their income to buy clean water because the coverage of tap water in their area is low. PAM Jaya cannot make new tap water connections in any part of Jakarta as the company'€™s contract with Palyja and another private water operator PT Aetra Air Jakarta guarantees exclusive rights to the private operators.