REPOST: Worst Drinking Water in Southeast Asia | The Jakarta Globe

Reposting this from the Jakarta Globe: Indonesia’s Clean Drinking Water Crisis Worst in Southeast Asia: Expert | The Jakarta Globe and talking about my personal experience with water quality as an expat in Jakarta from 2009 to 2013. More after the jump.

Water queue. A woman transports drinking water in the village of Bajo Indah in Southeast Sulawesi, on Saturday. Every day people in the town line up to retrieve clean water to meet their daily needs. (Antara Photo/Zabur Karuru)

Pekanbaru. Indonesia has the worst drinking water in Southeast Asia, a freshwater researcher at the Indonesian Research Institute (LIPI) said on Wednesday.

“Only 30 percent [of city residents] have access to clean water,” Ignasius DA Sutapa, a fresh water researcher at LIPI said in Bengkalis, Riau. “[That number] drops to only ten percent in villages.”

Indonesia needs to ensure that 50 percent of the population has access to clean drinking water if the nation hopes to meet the targets set by the United Nations’ (UN) Millennium Development Goals. Participating countries have committed to improving their overall health, environment and quality of life — focusing on eight targets addressing issues like poverty, malaria, HIV and hunger.

Reaching Indonesia’s clean water target it too large a goal for the state-owned water company PDAM to meet alone, Ignasius said. Click here to read the entire article.

– Jakarta Globe

I wrote about my own experience of the tap water in our Jakarta home here and here. Some things we’ve done to cope:

1. While we didn’t have a filter yet, I washed my face with mineral water (SO expensive) to battle the breakout that ensued
2. Our landlord gave us a centralized water filter after 2 years of renting his flat
3. We purchased a point-of-use water filter for brushing our teeth in our T&B
4. OC Mom in Manila sent me a fantastic Aquasana Dechlorinating Shower filter for less chlorinated and cleaner showers (My hair and skin thank you OC Mom!!
5. When we have guest we make sure to give them a pitcher of twice filtered water for brushing their teeth with the caution: “don’t swallow the water.”

* NOTE: a point-of-use filter is necessary because water still gets dirty when it goes into the tubing of our home. The tubing from our old flat is as expected old and corroded due to the high chlorine content in the water.  This was confirmed when our pipes broke here.

We noticed that despite buying filtered water and placing it in a dispenser, when we use it to make ice, after the ice melts there are tiny white particles in the water. Is this normal? Is it clean?

Let me leave you with a picture of the water stains in TD’s office. After a few days of having the toilet cleaned the rust stain would be back again and every time you wash your hands, your hands end up smelling like rust. It was a sad situation.

Things that we’ve learn to live with in Indonesia:

• The need to buy mineral water. Even cab drivers drink only Aqua Mineral Water.
• High prices for tiny bottles of mineral water in restaurants (2 USD for 330mL bottle!)
• Each home must have a mineral water dispenser – most expats have two.
• Each home must have at least a centralized filter which needs to be maintained every few months.

People living in newer buildings and homes may have a different experience of course. I’m writing based on my 4 years experience in Jakarta from 2009 – 20013 while living in Brawijaya Condominium – it’s an older buidling. The structure was at least 10 years old. What’s your experience with water in Jakarta or any other part of Indonesia?

 

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