A Long Journey to Bring Clean Water to Ciwalengke Soon after being exposed by a US television network, CNN, in early 2010, Ciwalengke Hamlet, Sukamaju Village, Majalaya Subdistrict, gained more publicity from national media over its poor water quality. Ciwalengke Hamlet has been frequently visited by various guests, ranging from those representing government institutions, students, researchers from both home and overseas, journalists to general public, all wishing to witness the condition of this hamlet. This small and densely populated hamlet is hiddenly sandwiched between factory walls and a vast expanse of rice fields. At the entrance of Gang Hasan, located next to a small supermarket in a pathway leading to Ciwalengke Hamlet, one can find brownish water on its right side as it flows on the stream just outside of a line of factory walls. Two toilets made from zinc in a 2 by 1 meter square room sit atop the stream. Chimneys from factories emit puffs of dark smoke and once in a while factory sewage pipes release white foams, adding another color to the already brown-colored stream. Along the edge of the stream lies mounting piles of garbage. This is a scene which is almost too familiar to the residents of the hamlet. Photo caption: A typical skin disease suffered by Ciwalengke residents. What makes people come to Ciwalengke Hamlet, especially to Neighborhood Unit (RT) 02 in Community Group (RW) 10? This is because of nothing but its poor water quality that has taken its toll on people’s health. Skin diseases such as itching, ringworm and ulceration are common symptoms easily found within RT 02 area. A liniment salve to stop the itch is a must-have thing for its residents, who are mostly migrants and rent makeshift houses in 2 by 3 meters in size. Around 86 families or an estimated of 225 people of RT 02 residents rely on water flowing in the stream outside the row of factory walls for their daily use. In addition to bathing, washing and toilet use, some residents use this water for drinks. “Generally, we still feel itchy” said Rohimah (45 years-old) who rents a house in RT 02 when she was visited in Ciwalengke in mid 2012 (28/6/12). “Although the itching is gone by now, but it will come back someday. My doctor says I need to have a laboratory test to find out the cause of the itch.” Rohimah has become one of the most frequently interviewed residents in RT 02 for a variety of media coverage during 2009 to 2013 period. The recent death of her husband in early 2013 has left Rohimah in financial troubles, making her almost penniless and choose not to proceed with further medical examination. “The price of drinking water is 3,000 rupiah per jerry can. It is too expensive to me and my family. So, I would rather use the easily available water,” said Ema (34 years old). With a husband working as a textile factory laborer and five children, her family needs to rent a makeshift house for 115,000 rupiah a month. Photo caption: (Top left) Rohimah shows her source of water which comes from a stream of waste contaminated water. (Center) This water is used by local people to bath, wash, do toilet needs and cook. (Bottom left) The CRP Team examines the result of water filtration in February 2013. Ema chose to draw and filter water from a well located nearby her house by covering fabrics into the mouth of a water faucet and then boiled the water before drinking. The fabric filter never lasts long as it works too hard to filter the muddy water. Iwa Detiyani (42 years old), a social worker and a resident of RT 02 RW 10 who is active in local community work, said that it is hard to access a real data on the number of residents with skin diseases living in the neighborhood unit (RT). Firstly, it is because of the type of the local people who are mostly those who rent houses and keep moving from one place to another, leaving only a handful of people permanently reside in the area. Secondly, it is hard to get access to the data of sufferers of skin diseases or other ailments related to the poor water quality and degrading environmental condition from a local health clinic. Deni Riswandani, the head of Komunitas Elemen Lingkungan (Environmental Element Community), said that “Ciwalengke Hamlet is one of the industrial zones in Sukamaju Village, Majalaya Subdistrict. There are at least 15 industries which operate within Sukamaju Village and most of their untreated waste is dumped directly into the river.” Clean Water Faces Constraints Photo caption: Media trip held by Indonesia Power, June 2012. Intensive news coverage launched by various media, be they local, national and international like those from South Korea, the US and French, has helped mobilizing those who wish to lend their hands, either from the government and academics or the private companies. A series of visits made by people to this area has sparked a hope among the local residents for an installation of a clean water facility to help their lives. “Many people have already come here, but there has been no change at all. No clean water for us, we keep using the contaminated water until we don’t know when” said Iwa. On the other hand, some people who wish to extend their helps face some constraints, ranging from land issue, artesian wells which are not suitable to local condition due to the contaminated ground water in the area, overpriced piping project, and others. In 2010 Bappenas conducted a minor study on a number of alternatives to provide clean water to Ciwalengke Hamlet. The result of the brief study suggested for an installation of a piping network, a household waste recycling facility, a rain water collector facility, a drilling well with an over 200-meter depth. At the end of 2010, simple water filters were distributed by an individual donor to some residents in RT 02. But they are limited in number and each filter unit in shape of a water bucket has a life span of no more than one year. Balai Besar Wilayah Sungai Citarum (BBWSC) once planned to help the residents by providing a deep well in 2012. But it failed to be realized due to a land issue as the agency had to buy the plot of land targeted as a location for the well because the land owner refused to hand over the land for free. Other obstacles to the plan were the issues related to the cost for maintenance of the water pumps and electricity upon the construction of the well. The cost is considered to be too high for the economically weak residents living in the area. A Simple Water Purifier for Ciwalengke Never losing any hopes in finding alternatives for providing clean water to the local residents, Iwa, Deni and Fitri from Komunitas Elingan (Elingan Community) have kept their contacts with external parties who are expected to provide their helps. The hope finally came. In early March 2013, Komunitas Elingan along with several sympathizers independently designed a simple equipment to purify water or it is called water ultra-filtration equipment. This equipment was designed modestly and it took two weeks to make by adjusting it to the condition of the densely populated area of RT 02. Photo caption: Installing a water filter on 22 March 2013 in Ciwalengke. This tool works without electrical power, it can be operated by rotating the handle by hand. The brownish water in the stream, where factories dump their waste into it and local people come to use it, is put into storage tanks, and then the water is channeled into a tube in about 1 meter height. The capacity of this water filter is about 500 liters per hour, enough to meet the needs of the residents living in the area. When this water filter was eventually installed, young children gave it first try by rotating the handle of the water purifier tube. Shouts of joy were instantly heard soon after clean water out flowed from the bottom of the tube. “We also welcome people from outside of this RT who wish to use this water,” said Rohimah in a happy face. Rohimah and residents of RT 02 who rent houses in the hamlet were seen monitoring the trial of this unit of water filter (22/3/13). The trial of this water ultra-filtration facility was coincident with the World’s Water day which falls on March 22. It was also attended by the head of Majalaya Subdistrict, the head of Sukamaju Village, Health Office and Environmental Control Agency (BPLHD) in Bandung Regency as well as representatives from various organization and communities such as Greenpeace and Cikapundung Rehabilitation Program (CRP) and students from University of Queensland. Photo caption: A meeting at the day of the water filter installation which coincided with World Water Day in March 22, 2013. Witnessing the joyful crowd of people who were trying to use the new water filter, Fitri could not hold her emotion anymore. “Imagine, in order to see this equipment over here, we need to wait for four years. I am so happy to see Ciwalengke residents are finally able to consume clean water”. Aside from RT 02 RW 10, almost all areas throughout Ciwalengke Hamlet, Sukamaju Village, face the same problem, namely the use of poor quality water. Take a look at RT 3 RW 8, which is located nearby a mosque. People there use water from a pond to bath, wash clothes, even wash raw food materials. Therefore, this long journey to bring clean water to Ciwalengke does not stop up to here. Writing: Diella Dachlan, Photo: Ng Swan Ti, Diella Dachlan/Dok.Cita-Citarum Graphic Concept: Nancy Rosmarini. Map: Anjar Dwi Krisnanta This article is a part of a Photo Report of Colorful Citarum in Majalaya
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 12:23:52 +0000
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