Challenges And Efforts Required To Basic Sanitation Access @ Indonesia

Related to the issue of basic sanitation, a number of challenges exist in terms of achieving the target to reducing the population proportion without adequate basic sanitation facilities access by the year 2015:

First, Lack of community knowledge about the environment. Rural communities less understand importance role sanitation in their health. One of the reasons for this is their low level of knowledge. Therefore most of latrine not being used properly. Low awareness levels cause the sanitation facilities that are constructed being unsustainable. Many of the public bathing, washing, and toilet facilities (MCK) that are constructed are not utilized properly, and even neglected. Knowledge and awareness among the public, the executive and legislative bodies either the business community must be improved that sanitation influence quality live. If the public is aware about sanitation importance especially relation to health and productivity, then demand for sanitation infrastructure and facilities will grow.

Second, Basic sanitation problem unimportant issue by politicians, the government and business community. They do not notice the importance of healthy proper basic sanitation. The issue of environmental health appears to be viewed as a “strange issue”. This issue did not to be taken up at decision making levels. The low level of attention for basic and healthy sanitation problem is reflected from small budget allocated to developing basic sanitation. Higher levels of concern and sensitivity within decision making party that there is relationship between sanitation and public health, particularly among the poor community in rural and urban areas, is absolutely necessary in the future.

Third, Lack of comprehensive inter-sector policies to provide basic and healthy sanitation facilities cause sanitation problem unless to carried. In the future, upgrading the quality of sanitation facilities should be a serious attention. The manifestation of attention is by providing funds and assistance for the development of facilities that meet requirement of technical criteria and health standards, also easy to operate and maintain by public.

Fourth, The deficient quality of septic tank construction in urban areas. Limited land in urban areas difficult to construct individual septic tanks that meet standard requirement. Deficient quality of septic tanks cause leakage and increase pollution of drinking water source from wells and groundwater.

Fifth, Limited people served by sewerage systems. This is an impact population growth rates in urban areas that do not follow by infrastructure of sewerage systems. Deficient development of sewerage systems in metropolitan and big cities is due to expensive construction and land limited area that can be utilized for service networks. On the other hand, the public’s willingness to pay for domestic wastewater services is very low and inadequate to cover the cost of these services.

Sixth, Inadequate sanitation services impact on quality of health. The outcome study of Asia Development Bank (1998) entitled Strengthening of Urban Waste Management Policies and Strategies (TA Number 2805-INO) mention that deficient quality of sanitation impacted economic losses of around IDR 423 trillion per year or 2% of the GDP.

Facts about Sewage @Indonesia

World Bank data in year 2005 shows that 69% of urban resident and 46% of rural resident (55,43% in average) in Indonesia served by adequate sanitation, compared to Singapore 100%, Thailand 96%, Philippine 83,06%, Malaysia 74,70% and Myanmar 64,48%. Inadequate sanitation quality reflected from low percentage resident that served by sewerage system. Jakarta as Indonesia capital city just 1% of resident served by sewerage compared to Manila (Philippine) 7%, Ho Chi Min (Vietnam) 12%, Dhaka (Bangladesh) 30%, Phnom Penh (Vietnam) 51%, New Delhi (India) 60%, and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) 80% (ISSDP, 2007).

MDGs report (2007) documented that some obstacles cause many people do not yet serve by clean water facility and basic sanitation. The obstacles are extensive develop area, outspread resident, variety Indonesia region and limited of funding. In addition, Indonesia government does not yet dispose sanitation improvement as development priority. Another factor is decrease number of raw water sources quality and quantity that is caused by land use changing (include forest) which disturb water cycle. In addition factor is increasing densities and inhabitant cause urbanization in big city. Poor people impact to deficiency of community to access of proper drinking water. After all is defective capability of operator management. From sanitation side the obstacles are less awareness of community, no integration policy between institution, deficient septic tank construction quality and sewerage system.

One person disposes 125 – 250 grams of sewage each day. If there are one hundred million people living in Indonesia’s cities today, means that these urban areas produce 25,000 tons of sewage every day. The large quantity of untreated properly of sewage is potentially harmful components for environment and human health. There are many pathogenic in human sewage such as salmonella typhi bacteria that cause typhoid fever, the vibrio cholerae bacteria that cause cholera, the hepatitis A virus, and the virus that causes polio.

Below are some facts about sewage in Indonesia (BAPPENAS, 2007)

1. 35 percent of latrines in urban areas have no water supply, no roof, or are not connected to a septic tank or other septic system. Examples are ‘helicopter’ latrines on river banks and latrines that dispose from sewage into the nearest river.

2. More than 12% of Indonesia’s city dwellers have no access to latrines (National Census, 2004). Meaning that tens of millions of people in Indonesia’s cities dispose sewage in the gardens, ditches, and rivers.

3. Around 75% of the rivers in Java, Sumatra, Bali, and Sulawesi are heavily polluted by organic matter (include sewage) from household waste. Ciliwung River in Jakarta (West Java) has a BOD5 of 40mg/L, four times of the maximum permitted level of 10 mg/L. This high BOD content makes the water to expel a putrid smell and turns the water black.

Septage Treatment @Surabaya City

Municipal Cleansing and Gardening Department (DKP) of Surabaya has built septage treatment plant (IPLT) in Keputih Sub District, Sukolilo District, East Surabaya.

IPLT - Keputih is one of the Technical Unit of Department (UPTD) of DKP in Surabaya that has the task of managing the septage waste treatment into compost in an effort to improve the quality of the environment, especially water quality caused by water pollution. IPLT has been operated since 1991, at ± 2 Ha area. IPLT use biological systems with mainly oxidation ditch. IPLT maximum capacity is 400 m3 / day otherwise the real use capacity is 100 m3 / day.

Consider to maximum capacity this plant just use 25% of operation capacity. Some causes are:

1. Most of septic tank do not meet requirement standard, therefore not so many septic tank have desludge in 2 – 3 years.

2. There is illegal private company do not register in DKP Operation Unit. On the other hand just 28 legal private companies with 69 private trucks are registered in DKP and dispose to IPLT. So the remaining private company remove sewage sludge directly into the river.

3. No controlling from municipal government about technical standard of septic tank construction and intend to septic tank owner about timing to empty septic tank.