Clean Water Crisis: Causes, Impacts, And The Role Of Government In It

Water scarcity illustration. (Photo: special)

JAKARTA - The clean water crisis certainly has a big enough impact on every living thing that lives on earth. This can happen because water is one of the most important elements that support life for all creatures.

The problem of the clean water crisis certainly does not only occur in one particular area but also in several regions in Indonesia. The problem of water scarcity is rooted in the deteriorating availability of clean water sources and also the depletion of water sources.

The factors causing the clean water crisis can be in the form of climate change, an increasing population, and several other root causes. Not only in Indonesia, but other parts of the world also have the same impact from this phenomenon.

Launching Science Daily, water scarcity occurs on every continent and about 2.8 billion people worldwide are affected, at least during the period of one month in a year.

The factors causing the clean water crisis

If viewed from the world map and its geographical position, Indonesia has 6 percent of the world's water supply or about 21 percent of the pacific water supply. However, the reality is that Indonesia is still affected by the clean water crisis due to several reasons, including the following:

1. Water Pollution

Water pollution occurs because pesticides and fertilizers are washed away from agricultural activities. Besides that, it can also be caused by industrial waste, and the simplest thing that still often happens in the life of our society is the disposal of human waste in rivers without involving water treatment installations.

Other causes can be in the form of oil spills on the ground, as well as leakage of wastewater from the trash that seeps into the ground, causing clean water pollution.

2. Agricultural system

In agricultural activities, the majority of farmers use the available freshwater. Unfortunately, 60 percent of that water is wasted, because the farming methods used are less or less efficient. Another thing can also be caused by a leaky irrigation system. Also, pesticides and fertilizers that have washed up in rivers should be cleaned up.

3. Over Population

When the population increases rapidly along with the growth rate, of course, the demand for new resources will result in additional pressure on clean water sources. Another worst case is the loss of biodiversity.

4. Dryness

Areas that do not get enough rainfall will experience a prolonged drought. Especially when the dry season hits. However, some areas are hit by long periods of drought while other areas experience drought at certain times.

The impact of the clean water crisis

The clean water crisis certainly has a serious impact on the survival of humans and other living creatures. Here are some of the impacts that can occur:

1. Hunger is rampant

It is estimated that the global utilization of water for irrigation and agriculture reaches 70 percent, and the rest is used for domestic purposes.

If water is scarce, then farming activities by farmers will be hampered and have a big impact on the basic needs of everyday human life.

Another impact, animals will die, because the food supply is cut off. This also affects the supply of meat. In short, the clean water crisis is causing mass starvation for humans and animals living in the area.

2. Decreasing standard of living

To maintain operations, schools, restaurants, hospitals, hotels, and various other businesses need clean water so that cleanliness and health are maintained. If this is disturbed, of course, it will have an impact on enormous economic losses.

Manufacturing and industrial processes, mining activities, and commercial businesses all require large amounts of water to thrive. Stagnating economic activity due to the water crisis means that the poverty level will have the potential to rise higher.

3. Loss of Wetlands

More than half of the planet's wetlands have been lost since 1990, and most of it is due to scarce water supplies. Wetlands have become dry to the point of losing their natural ability to hold water.

4. Ecosystem damage

When the water crisis occurs, the most terrible things are desertification, humans losing plants, and deaths of wild animals and domestic animals. Furthermore, ecological disasters lead to food shortages and poor quality of life.

5. Disease Begins to Appear

The scarcity of water that occurs can have a more serious impact, namely skin disease, or other diseases. In several cases, people affected by this problem contracted serious illnesses that resulted in death.

Smart Water Technology

The year 2030 is predicted to have a clean water crisis in several parts of the world. For this reason, various countries in the world, including Indonesia, are recommended to implement Smart Water technology.

Business Vice President of Industrial Automation Schneider Electric Indonesia & Timor Leste Hedi Santoso said, by 2030 the world community will face a water deficit of up to 40 percent in climatic conditions that are the same or even worse than what is currently happening in several countries. The clean water crisis is caused by a combination of three factors, namely population growth and demographic change, urbanization, and climate change.

Launching Kompas, Business Vice President of Industrial Automation Schneider Electric Indonesia & Timor Leste Hedi Santoso said that the international community will face a water deficit of up to 40 percent in weather conditions that are the same or even worse than what is happening in several countries today.

For this reason, the Schneider Electric company provides a solution to these problems by introducing an EcoStruxure architectural product. It is believed that the EcoStruxure ™ for Water and Wastewater architecture system can help produce water with high quality, in addition to carrying out sustainable wastewater purification and operational efficiency.

The EcoStruxure ™ architecture for Water and Wastewater has been widely used in water and wastewater management projects around the world. Among them are Anglian Water in England, Shuqaiq 3 in Saudi Arabia, a wastewater treatment plant in California, and Herning Water in Denmark.

The government invites foreign investors

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) plans to invite investors from abroad to invest in Drinking Water Supply Systems (SPAM) in Indonesia. This is done to achieve the target of 10 million house connections (SR) for drinking water over the next 5 years, namely 2020-2024.

That is what prompted the Directorate General of Drinking Water, Directorate-General (Ditjen) Cipta Karya, Ministry of PUPR with the Association of Indonesian Drinking Water Companies (Perpamsi) to have plans to provide information in English to foreign investors.

Director of Drinking Water at the Directorate General of Human Settlements of the PUPR Ministry, Yudha Mediawan, explained that foreigners do not know what projects they can invest in Indonesia. So far, they only know through secondary data such as newspapers.

Until now, there has been foreign investment from South Korea through Exim Bank for the Karian-Serpong Regional SPAM project. Yudha said the South Korean investor could invest in the Karian-Serpong Regional SPAM because he knew several people at the PUPR Ministry.

The latest information is that the Karian-Serpong Regional SPAM was initiated by a consortium of K-Water, LG International, and PT Adhi Karya (Persero) Tbk with an investment value of around IDR 2.21 trillion. The scope of cooperation is in the form of the construction of a production unit and a 25.2-kilometer bulk water pipeline transmission within 30 years.

The project uses the unsolicited Government and Business Entity Cooperation (PPP) scheme (private initiator). The Karian-Serpong Regional SPAM has a capacity of 4,600 liters per second to provide access to drinking water for 368,000 SRs in three areas, including Kota Tangerang, South Tangerang, and DKI Jakarta.

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