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• Water everywhere, but few drops to drink

Water everywhere, but few drops to drink

Poor urban planning, rapid urbanization and global climate change have only added to water woes in a city where 40 percent of the land area is below sea level. High-density development currently prevents rainwater from absorbing into the ground, while a lack of piped water means residents must rely on supplies from underground aquifers.

 

Too much development on top and too little water below leads to subsidence, with some parts of Jakarta sinking at a rate of 20cm per year. So while flooding will continue to plague Jakarta, the greater problem facing most residents may be finding clean water.

 

Only half the city’s 9 million people have water on tap. The rest rely on ground water or are forced to pay a premium for jerry cans from neighborhood suppliers. Poor infrastructure means clean supplies are contaminated as they travel from the water treatment plants to people’s homes. Access is another problem for poor, informal communities that due to their illegal land status cannot be connected to the pipelines managed by the city’s two private water companies.

 

To address the supply problem, the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) is promoting private-sector investment in a new reservoir and improvements to the current pipeline system. On the access end, non-governmental organizations, such as Mercy Corps, are working on projects that will bring clean, piped water to underserved communities.

 

But sustainable urban initiatives, such as rainwater collection, have not been prioritized, say critics. And problems with water shortages will persist until Jakarta learns to live with the water that it has.