All rivers in Central Java polluted, says green agency

Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post 16 Jan 10;

All the rivers in the Central Java region have dangerously high levels of pollutants, including manure, human feces and industrial waste, the provincial environmental agency warned Friday.

"The levels of E. coli bacteria as well as the biochemical and chemical oxygen demand in these rivers are all well above accepted safe levels," agency head Djoko Sutrisno said.

He placed the blame partly on the "irresponsible behaviour" of people living and working close to the waterways.

Citing an example, he said parts of the Bengawan Solo River had been polluted by industrial waste, with many companies discharging effluent into the river.

Because of the pollution, he said, water from these rivers and other polluted water resources was no longer potable and it was not even feasible to further process it into drinking water.

"Communities living in water catchment areas seem not to care about their environment," he said.

He pointed out the example of the polluted Umbul Jumprit, the famous spring in Temanggung known for clean, clear water considered sacred and often used in religious rituals.

Once a water resource is polluted, he said, tap water companies can't remove the iron content polluting the water. "Waste processing facilities are required in order to prevent factories from polluting the rivers," he said.

He added that his office would help build a waste processing facility for small-scale industries, adding that "large scale industries have the responsibility of building their own waste processing facilities".

Data from the Central Java Spatial and Residential Agency showed that poor sanitation had resulted in tens of thousands of people in the province suffering from diarrhea annually.

In 2006, 488,785 cases of diarrhea were reported, of which 40 percent were children.

Of the 35 regencies in Central Java, Tegal, Kebumen and Purworejo had the highest number of diarrhea cases.

The same data also showed that 12 percent of the Central Java urban population did not have access to toilets, while 37 percent of the rural population did not have toilets in their homes.

What was also concerning is that 35 percent of the toilets in rural regions did not have water, were roofless and were not connected to septic tanks. Meanwhile, leaks from septic tanks were reported to have caused 70 percent of the ground water in urban areas to be contaminated with the E. coli bacteria that causes diarrhea.

To deal with the challenges, the Surakarta municipal administration has launched a mass septic tank program, in which all household waste are channeled through special pipes to a waste processing facility.