Tifa Asrianti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta |Tue, 03/25/2008 11:20 AM
Residents of North and East Jakarta were still enduring muddy tap water with a strong chlorine smell on Monday as a result of a water production disruption that occurred 10 days ago.
Malya Permanasari, a resident of Rawa Badak in North Jakarta, said her tap water had been murky for the last few days.
"I was in a hurry, so I had to use the muddy water. At least the water doesn't smell like the gutter," said Malya, who has been a water company customer since 1985.
Another Rawa Badak resident, Luki Arifin, said besides being dirty, his tap water also had a strong smell of chlorine.
"I can use the water as I only use it for bathing and washing," he said. "But I have to let the water sit for a while to allow the mud to settle. However, I can't do anything about the chlorine."
Similar complaints have come from East Jakarta residents.
Stefani, who lives in Pondok Kopi, and Lisa Gunawan, who live in Jatinegara, said the water in their area also had a strong smell of chlorine.
On March 13, PT Thames PAM Jaya (TPJ) issued a notification letter saying it had suffered a 9.5 percent decrease in targeted water production after heavy rain upstream raised the turbidity level.
The raw water turbidity level, as recorded from raw water supplier Perum Jasa Tirta II Jatiluhur, was over 9,000 NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Unit), above the 2,500 NTU tolerance level.
To meet the required clean water standard, TPJ performed a sterilization process, affecting water production in 66 subdistricts in North and East Jakarta.
TPJ communications director Rhamses Simanjuntak said even though water production was disrupted for a few hours, water supply could be affected for longer.
"Therefore, we sent notification letters to the media to be published in advance, so that our customers were ready if water supply slowed down or even stopped suddenly," Rhamses told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
According to Rhamses, the notification letter stated TPJ's responsibility to customers and said the company would not compensate customers for any disruption to water quality or supply.
When asked about the muddy water in Rawa Badak, he said the problem might be caused by technical work close to the area. As for the chlorine smell, Rhamses said it was probably caused by the sterilization process.
After signing a 25-year contract with city-owned water company PAM Jaya in 1997, TPJ and its counterpart PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) supply tap water to the city.
Many customers have complained about the two operators' poor tap water quality amid increasing water rates applied by the administration.
Some customers have switched to groundwater in an attempt to find cleaner water.
Stefani said her family stopped using tap water and turned to groundwater six months ago. However, she continues to pay the subscription fee because she often uses piped water to pump the groundwater.
"Piped water makes my skin itchy. Besides, we can't rely on piped water, the water supply often stops without any explanation," Stefani said.
Another Pondok Kopi resident, Nova, also turned to groundwater two months ago after the water company changed her house status and increased rates.
"The rate was too expensive and didn't match with the company's performance. It's cheaper to use groundwater," she said.
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