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.