DLH: DKI Jakarta River Water Quality Is Very Concerned

JAKARTA - The DKI Jakarta Provincial Environment Agency (DLH) monitors water quality by taking samples from the Ciliwung River, Jalan Jembatan Halimun, Menteng District, Central Jakarta.

Environmental Quality Monitoring Staff of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Environment Service (DLH), Mustika said, officers took water samples using a long rope.

Furthermore, the river water is then placed in a small plastic box to be examined in the laboratory.

"We will analyze this water sample in the laboratory," he told reporters, Wednesday, September 22.

Mustika said that river water pollution is usually caused by domestic waste sources such as faecal E coli bacteria which are dominant in polluting rivers.

"The dominant one is from domestic sources, of course, such as faecal E coli bacteria, which is a concern for the quality of river water in DKI at this time," he said.

Ciliwung river water samples taken will be analyzed in the laboratory using physical, chemical and biological parameters. To find out what substances pollute the river water.

"The quality of river water in the DKI Jakarta area is categorized from lightly polluted to heavily polluted. Apart from being contaminated with faecal E coli bacteria, river water is also contaminated with heavy metal elements," he said.

According to Mustika, E coli bacteria are normal microorganisms found in human feces, both healthy and sick. In one gram of human feces there are about one hundred million E coli bacteria.

This water quality monitoring will continue to be carried out at 120 river locations in DKI Jakarta to determine the quality of clean water for the community.