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View all search resultsTask force probes black, smelly water in Citarum
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task force in charge of cleaning up the Citarum River has started investigating the cause of the black and foul-smelling water in a section of West Java's longest – and dirtiest – river.
The team had inspected the river starting from sector 16, said Maj. Gen. Dedi Kusnadi Thamim, the head of the Citarum Harum task force.
Dedi said the river's water condition was still normal from Walahar to Klari in Karawang regency.
"We've done digging near the river. The water turns black and smelly from Klari downstream," Dedi said as quoted by kompas.com on Tuesday.
According to reports, the water in the Citarum River in the Karawang area has been black and emitting a strong odor since Friday. Fish in the river have reportedly died as a result of the pollution.
Theories put forward to explain the phenomenon include the possibility that river sedimentation that had built up over the years has begun to come up to the surface as the water flow rate decreased. Some people suspect new domestic or industrial waste polluting the water.
The task force has cooperated with the Karawang Environmental Agency to take water samples at four different locations for laboratory tests.
