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Jakarta tap water drying up after months of drought
At least 15 districts in the capital are prone to drought.
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Local resident Khomariah, 49, checks a pipe used to collect rainwater next to her house in a fishing village in Kamal Muara, Penjaringan, North Jakarta, on July 13. (JP/Donny Fernando)
R
esidents of Pegadungan village, Kalideres district, West Jakarta, take extra measures to obtain water as the drought continues to plague Jakarta.
Desy, 50, who lives in community unit (RW) 09 in Pegadungan, said she had stayed up late every night for the last two months to fill up water tubs in her house.
“Since the dry season started two months ago, the city’s tap water service has been available only from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. I stay up late to fill all the water containers in the house, otherwise my family would have to do without water the entire day,” she told The Jakarta Post on Monday, adding that water pressure in her house had been low since the beginning of the year.
Ingho, 43, who lives in Palm Paradise housing complex in Pegadungan, also in West Jakarta, said his area had no running water as piped water services to the housing complex had stopped two months, forcing the complex management to buy water from water trucks.
“The price of water in our housing complex increased fivefold after the management started buying water from water trucks. We usually pay Rp 8,000 to Rp 9,000 per cubic meter of water, but these days we pay Rp 50,000,” Ingho said.
He explained that his family could use up to 25 cubic meters of water per month, costing about Rp 1.2 million a month for water.
“Even though my neighbors and I have complained about the expensive water service, we have no choice but to pay for it because water is a basic need. My family is doing its best to save water, such as by sending our dirty clothes to a laundry instead of washing it at home,” he said.
