Jakarta water issues a reflection of bad planning.

An article posted on the Jakarta-Indonesia-Urban blog reflects a serious situation facing the capital city of the country, “Already there is more waste water generated and dispersed today than at any other time in the history of our planet: more than one out of six people lack access to safe drinking water, namely 1.1 billion people, and more than two out of six lack adequate sanitation, namely 2.6 billion people.” This is a statement on the world situation, but it hits uncomfortable close to home for many Jakartans, in fact, almost a majority of them.

Reports by Jakarta news media in 2009 alleged that only 20% of the 18 million people living in the Greater Jakarta Region had access to a proper toilet in their home. Millions of people are therefore disposing of household waste water and sewerage by throwing it in the street, where it finds its way into Ciliwung River.

In addition, only around 50% of the inhabitants of the city of Jakarta have access to the city’s water system, with many residents drilling their own bore holes or taking water from the river, which is unsanitary and dangerous, given that several sugar factories operate on the river banks and dispose of some of their waste in the river water.

This is because access to the formal water network is highly contingent on which part of the city residents live in, which depends on socio-economic factors. In low income areas there is a lack of access to the water network that is in sharp contrast to higher income areas. This problem was outlined in a Human Development Report in which it is stated that “unequal access to water supply and sanitation has been characterized as one of the key development challenges for the South in the next century”.

It is a challenge that the city leader must confront, there is a dire lack of funding being allocated for expansion of the water network infrastructure, Jakarta news media recently reported that in order for the entire country to meet Millennium Development Goals there would need to be spending of around $500 million each year on the water network alone, which would bring sanitation levels and water access to acceptable levels by 2015. However, countrywide, around $1.1 trillion is spend each year on all the infrastructure needs of the country – that includes, roads, railways, ports, electricity and water.

Meanwhile, the effects of drinking unsafe water are costing the city around 2.6% of its local GDP due to lost productivity through sickness and expenditure on health services as those residents that drink unsafe water are often unable to afford private healthcare. Every year, around one third of Indonesians receive treatment for water-borne diseases, such as typhoid, dysentery and cholera.

This situation has become as bad as it is because, while the population of Indonesia grew, and millions of Indonesians made their way to the capital in search of economic advancement, the water network was not expanded to accommodate the burgeoning population. Now the country and the capital city’s future prosperity is being put at risk.