Walhi Calls Water Fog Blocking Polutan Rises, Not Effectively Press Jakarta Air Pollution

JAKARTA - Indonesian Forum City and Pollution Campaign (Walhi) activist Abdul Ghofar assesses the use of a high-pressure water mist generator or pump to make water fog ineffective in reducing air pollution in DKI Jakarta.

"The use of 'water mass' to reduce air pollution has not yet been proven effective," said Ghofar when contacted in Jakarta, Monday, September 4, was confiscated by Antara.

Ghofar said that according to several experts, this method would actually cause other problems such as blocking pollutants from rising into the air.

According to him, the effectiveness of the water fog has not been tested for sure and excessive use of water in the midst of the dry season situation is not wise enough because water is still a necessity.

"The government should focus on reducing solutions from sources of pollution, not focusing on overcoming existing problems in a less effective way," he said.

Moreover, he said, the initiative to use water fog in government buildings and then expand it to private buildings needs to be reviewed.

He suggested that the government invites the private sector to build environmentally friendly buildings to reduce air pollution.

"The government should establish partnerships with the private sector to reduce pollution sources with other policies such as the implementation of 'green building'," he said.

He explained that this environmentally friendly concept, for example, through energy efficiency, the implementation of work from home or WFH to restrictions on the use of private vehicles for employees.

The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has started to make water fog from the roof of the building using a high-pressure pump at the DKI City Hall Building, Central Jakarta, as an effort to reduce the impact of air pollution.

In addition, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government (Pemprov) has also installed 30 units of water fog utilizing high-pressure pumps that are placed in the buildings of the mayor's office to hospitals.