It had previously been reported that waste from the production of a traditional Javanese alcoholic drink called ciu had polluted the river, resulting in the death of fish and disrupting the supply of clean water.

State tap water company Tirta Wening spokesperson Bayu Tunggul said the situation caused the closure of two IPAs in Jebres and Jurug for two days.

“We cannot process the water because the waste is too thick. It has a murky color and smells like alcohol. We have had to cease operations, which has disrupted the water supply for residents in the area,” Bayu said on Thursday.

Ciu is a traditional alcoholic beverage made from fermented sugar cane. The beverage is often produced by small enterprises in Bekonang village, Sukoharjo. The alleged polluter is a factory located next to the Samin Stream, which flows into the Bengawan Solo River.

Bayu said it was the third time liquor waste pollution had been reported in the area. In September, Tirta Wening was also unable to filter water because of a similar incident.

“We don't want to point fingers. However, there are many alcohol producers as well as small enterprises that produce batik and textiles in the upper course of the river. All their waste flows into the Bengawan Solo River,” Bayu said.

He added he had coordinated with the Sukoharjo Environment Agency as the company did not have the authority to handle river pollution matters.

“We can only tell them that we cannot process the water because of alcohol contamination. The environment agency has the authority to handle the matter,” he added.

Bayu stated that the company was coordinating with the Central Java Environment Agency to solve the contamination issue. He said the company could take water from the Samin Stream as it still had sufficient supply, while other streams that flowed into the Bengawan Solo River had already run dry.

“There is still enough water at the Gajah Mungkur dam. However, as the water is murky, processing it will take time,” he said.

Meanwhile, the head of Sukoharjo Pollution Management and Environmental Damage Agency, Suyatman, confirmed that the liquor waste indeed originated from the Samin Stream.

“Of the 100 small enterprises, most still don’t have a wastewater treatment plant [IPAL]. Some already process their waste. However, due to their limited capacity, they have to dump waste into the river,” Suyatman said.

He also said his department had made plans to build an IPAL in Polokarto to capture waste from liquor producers. Unfortunately, the plan has yet to be realized because of land problems.

“The land we want to use is in a green zone. The public works and housing agency is currently taking care of the land,” Suyatman said. (dpk)

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