Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Water is the great equalizer for Jakartans, whether they live in a swank neighborhood of the city or a crowded kampong only a stone's throw away. For everybody has to pay extra to get a drop that is fit to drink.
Mother-of-two Inneke is not too bothered when it comes to meeting her family's daily water needs. Like most middle to upper-income consumers, she has a system in place for her clean water supply and the money to pay for it.
"We always buy bottled water to drink, while for bathing, washing and cooking we use tap water. It would be great if we could use water from the faucet for drinking, but right now we drink bottled water for reasons of practicality," said the resident of an upmarket neighborhood in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.
Water is a much more difficult commodity to come by for most Jakarta families, especially low-income residents, for whom a 19-liter gallon of mineral water at Rp 10,000 (about US$1) or a Rp 3,500 1.5 liter bottle are too expensive.
They must boil piped water or groundwater to rid it of impurities and make it safe to drink. It's become an even more expensive commodity since last year's rise in price of the liquid natural gas and kerosene used to boil the water.
There are two water supply operators – PT Thames Pam Jaya (TPJ) and PT Pam Lyonaisse Jaya (Palyja) – who were appointed by the city administration to take care of water supply and distribution. Both serve 700,000 households. Palyja serves customers in western Jakarta, while TPJ supplies water to the city's east.
TPJ water production manager Sri W. Kaderi acknowledged that water supplied to customers' houses was still far from potable quality although the company strived to make it as clean as possible.
"Many things happen on the way to customers' houses. We can directly drink water here at the production center but because of aging rusty pipes and, in many cases, holes in several pipes, water at the customers' houses must be boiled," he said.
Palyja's senior commissioner Bernard Lafrogne said most pipes used to distribute water to customers were installed during the Dutch administration – meaning they are about 200 years old – and it would take time for the companies to upgrade them.
Of the total of 4,300 kilometers of the old tap water networks, Palyja has managed to replace 690 kilometers, while TPJ has repaired 159 kilometers since its operations in the capital began in 1998. Their contracts require them to repair or change the pipes until 2020.
Despite the aging pipes, both Sri and Lafrogne said there were regular checks of the system, jointly carried out by the companies, PAM Jaya and the Jakarta Health Agency.