APPENDIX 1
COMMENTARY—WATER
IMPAIRS WATERS,
DRAWING THE
WASTEWATER LINE
IN INDONESIA
Amreeta Regmi
Making water safe from man-made impurities is
increasingly seen as being important in conserving and utilizing
this finite resource. Therefore, above and beneath the surface,
wastewater is seen as a critical element that impairs safe water.
In 2001, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg,
global leaders came to a consensus on a set of development goals,
known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The MDG number-7,
in particular aims to "ensure environmental sustainability"
with three specific targets. Of notable importance is target-10,
which intends by 2015 to halve the proportion of people without
sustainable access to safe drinking water and appropriate sanitation.
Target-10 also directly correlates with target number-9 of MDG-7,
which integrates the principles of sustainable development into
country's policies and programs to reverse the loss of environmental
resources. Likewise, target-11 of MDG-7 sets to improve the lives
of 100 million-slum dweller's by 2020 and is interdependent on
the achievements made through target-10 and 9.
The MDGs are significant to Indonesia's current
water and sanitation policy strategies. Indonesia, as yet, does
not have a comprehensive sector-wide national policy for sanitation.
Thus adapting policies and institutions to recognize the MDG-7
targets and focusing on wastewater will benefit Indonesia. The
reciprocal interaction of water and sanitation with other development
sectors in achieving the MDGs, have been widely debated in various
national and global forums. Recognizing the inter-sectoral linkages
addressed by MDG-7, Indonesia has moved forward with an integrated
water management policy framework.
Indonesia's Water Resources Law-7 of 2004 recognizes
the innate inter-sectoral characteristics of water for hydrological,
biological and chemical functions of ecosystems to adapt to human
activities. Various articles within the context of water conservation,
under Chapter-3 of this law make reference to water quality and
quantity. However, extended articulation on sanitation is missing.
Moreover, stipulation on treatment and management of wastewater
is largely lacking. While Indonesia is on the threshold of developing
a national level sector-wide sanitation policy, explicitly recognizing
wastewater as the sinew that binds the sectors of water and sanitation
within the larger sustainable environmental framework will be
critical. MDG target-10 not only represents an ambitious consensus
that recognizes the connection between water, sanitation and various
other sectors inter alia, but also assumes the creation
of an entirely new institution and development sector of "wastewater".
How does wastewater precisely correspond within the larger landscape
of water and sanitation and principles of sustainable development?
Access to wastewater treatment might hold the key to achieve an
array of objectives intended through MDG-7.
Wastewater conjures the image of profuse water,
it may be rightly so, it is water misused in putrid form. Wastewater
requires mechanical/chemical/biological treatment to make it safe
for productive reuse. Contaminated "black water", is
associated with water-mixed concentrated excreta and sullage.
"Grey water" is diluted sewage generated through human
hygienic usage such as bathtubs/showers etc. Thus the connection
between domestic sanitation treatment and wastewater is evident.
A World Bank report indicates that discounting chemical waste,
Indonesia's household waste generates 70-75% of organic pollutant
load in water bodies and 25-30% is discharged from industries.
There is a direct relationship between wastewater
and drinking water. Water supply in Indonesia is accessed through
institutionalized water utility distribution networks and surface
and ground sources. The consequences of safe water being expelled
through conveyance systems is contingent on existing effluent
treatment systems and mechanisms in place that control both black
and grey water. Therefore the variable of access to safe water
directly correlates to the volume and types of contaminants produced
and the systems that control the contaminants during the conversion
of raw water to safe water. Contaminants increase in water is
directly proportional to the volume of wastewater, thus, this
decreases access to safe water.
One estimate for Indonesia, suggests that 13%
of sewage is discharged into water bodies such as rivers and lakes
and 6% to irrigated rice fields. Considering that rivers and lakes
form a major source of bulk water supply for both consumptive
and productive uses, achieving target-10 moves beyond the realm
of domestic uses of water to recognize the inter-sectoral linkages
between the environment and agriculture sectors. Therefore, categorizing
the polluted rivers of Jakarta, contaminated groundwater, floodway,
storm water, drainage systems, solid waste in contact with surface
water and toxic mudflows is of utmost importance. Impairment extends
boundaries beyond the conventional sectors of water and sanitation,
thus, adapting institutions to recognize this will be useful in
achieving target-10.
The prevailing three types of sanitation systems
that treat domestic wastewater in Indonesia are managed through
a multi-institutional structure. These are household systems that
use pit-latrine and on-site septic tanks; community based Decentralized
Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS) installed with small bored
sewer; and centralized systems that use server, night soil processing
and oxidation. Due to variations in systems, structure and design,
lack of sector wide sanitation policy; obtained data becomes inconsistent.
Thus, generation of reliable data for formulating policies should
be a priority for Indonesia. In the urban setting, existing data
indicate that much work is needed for meeting MDG targets. The
National Statistics Agency reports that the proportion of urban
Indonesians using pit-latrine and on-site septic tanks for excreta
disposal is 77.5% and that most of 73% of the urban households
use inefficient systems that discharge effluent directly into
the subsoil. Over 20% of urban households use public latrines,
most of which discharge directly into river bodies as concentrated
waste streams. Centralized treatment plants provide sanitary sewers
in ten cities to serve about 1.3% of the urban population. World
Bank reports that urban sewerage coverage for Indonesia is the
lowest in Asia; therefore, overcoming the challenges in coming
close to target-10 will not only depend on effective policies,
investment, technology design, public awareness, compliance and
enforcement, but also on synchronizing existing institutions to
MDG oriented national policies.
Data on access to water and coverage is not
delineated clearly. The National Action Plan 2000 for Drinking
Water for Indonesia estimates that total piped water coverage
is 20%, with an estimated 53% of the public using water from non-piped
systems. World Bank report suggests that institutionalized water
utilities such as PDAMs supply water to 17% of the population
out of which 35% reside in service area. Approximately 83% of
the population acquires water through alternative sources. Over
60% of the population extracts ground water for multiple uses.
This makes interpretation of reported data even more difficult
as to where and how to draw the line for wastewater. Moreover,
there is a lack of reliable data for wastewater originating from
non-toilet and non-domestic sources. By 2015 the population of
Indonesia is predicted to reach 240 million. The symbiotic relationship
between increased population pressures, environmental sustainability,
human health and poverty reduction will become even more apparent.
For all the rhetoric of MDGs, target-10 deserves
a closer look to examine the archipelagoes of water network above
and beneath the surface. There have been various commentaries
and articles in the local media over the past several months on
the looming water crisis, drying reservoirs, lack of alternative
sources and uncontainable toxic mudflows. Target-10 is just a
reminder that it becomes imperative to embed wastewater treatment
in safe water and sanitation policies, and the implementation
process to recognize the reciprocal interaction with other targets
of MDG-7.
Conditions necessary to guide the existing and
developing policies towards target-10 is now needed. Firstly,
the need to set clear national and regional level benchmarks for
access to "wastewater" treatment is evident in order
to achieve the larger goal of environmental sustainability. Secondly,
integrated public water and sanitation should be the agenda and
concerns of pluralistic institutional structures. Thirdly, a sector-wide
integrated wastewater treatment policy will be essential to link
the sectors of safe water and appropriate sanitation.
Given the existing complexities of the water
and sanitation sector, it is unlikely that Indonesia will achieve
the targets of MDG-7. However, moving forward proactively by encouraging
local action to set local level definitions, benchmarks and targets
may be a plausible way forward for the immediate future. Overcoming
the fuzziness on the definition and categorization of wastewater,
by itself will remain a challenging task. Data and definitions
need to be simplified to translate the realities and benefits
of wastewater treatment in meaningful ways, to adapt to the needs
of the public and to safeguard the interest of the poor. Empowering
the machinery to implement programs rather than creating bureaucratic
white elephant structures will be necessary if Indonesia is to
move the MDG-7 agenda on a fast track.
The writer holds a doctorate from Wageningen
University and works in the sector of water resource management.
She has served in Africa, South Asia and Indonesia. The views
herein are personal and, therefore, do not represent those of
any institution or government.
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