Biotechnology Expert Values The Increase In Water Tariffs In Jakarta Is Inevitable

Illustration of the provision of clean water from PDAM. (Between-Igoy S)

JAKARTA - Environmental biotechnology expert at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) Firdaus Ali assesses that the increase in piped water tariffs in Jakarta is a necessity.

This is because the DKI Provincial Government targets the coverage of clean water services managed by Perumda PAM Jaya to reach 100 percent by 2030. Meanwhile, currently the service coverage is still 65.85 percent.

Not to mention, the rate of piped water leakage or non-revenue water (NRW) in Jakarta has reached 47 percent. According to Firdaus, tariff adjustments can reduce water leakage by rejuvenating pipes.

"We must save PAM Jaya. We must reduce the leak rate of 47 percent by all means," Firdaus told reporters, Thursday, February 6.

However, the founder of the Indonesia Water Institute emphasized that tariff adjustments need to be focused on the commercial and industrial sectors, which have been enjoying relatively low water rates.

According to him, tariffs for the commercial sector can be tripled in order to reduce inequality in water distribution.

"The tariff that we raise is from commercial to above. If necessary, it will triple. Why? Because so far they have enjoyed water at a low price," explained Firdaus.

Not to mention, Jakarta is said to be threatened with drowning due to land subsidence in the next tens of years. One of the reasons is the continuous use of groundwater.

If the exploitation of deep groundwater is not controlled, the impact will further worsen environmental conditions, such as land subsidence and an increasingly severe water crisis.

"Jakarta sank because of the tidal waves, Jakarta then flooded, and also Jakarta throughout the year the water crisis, lack of water. We don't want the socio-economic costs to be much more expensive," said Firdaus.

Previously, the Acting Governor of DKI Jakarta, Teguh Setyabudi, emphasized that the decision to increase the PAM water rate in Jakarta as of January 1, 2025 had been carefully considered.

According to him, PAM's water tariffs in Jakarta have not increased for a long time. In fact, the cost of meeting the need for drinking water continues to increase. Meanwhile, the price of bottled drinking water also continues to rise.

"There are so many considerations. It's not just PAM Jaya's tariff since 2007-2024, it means that 17 years have never gone up. But there are also various other considerations," said Teguh, some time ago.

However, not all groups of customers experienced an increase in the piped water rate. President Director of Perumda PAM Jaya Arief Nasrudin said the increase in tariffs only targeted groups with water consumption of more than 10 m3 to 20 m3 and above 20 cubic meters.

For example, the category of very simple household customers or simple households using PAM water is around Rp. 150,000 per month, only experiencing an increase in tariffs of Rp. 5,000 compared to old rates.

"There is an increase but a month the increase is Rp. 5,000. So it feels like this figure is Rp. 5,000, this figure is still very reasonable, so it can still be broken down by the community," said Arief.

Meanwhile, social customer groups specifically for use up to 10 cubic meters experienced a reduction in tariffs. As for other group customers, it remains the same as before.

"If household customers use water wisely with consumption at 10 m3, then there will be no change in the rate that will be felt by the customer, considering that the tariff on the 0-10 m3 requirement is still relatively the same," said Arief.