The Ministry Of PUPR Invites Local Governments To Form Disaster-Resilient Drinking Water Services

Photo: Doc. Ministry of PUPR

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) invites local governments (Pemda) to work together to realize sustainable, resilient, inclusive, and disaster-resistant drinking water services. Director General of Cipta Karya, Ministry of PUPR, Diana Kusumastuti, said that continuous, resilient, inclusive and disaster-resistant drinking water services can be realized if the local government is committed to providing support for Regional Owned Enterprises (BUMD) for Drinking Water as an operator for drinking water services in the regions.

"As the basic needs of the community, the availability of drinking water is needed in normal and disaster conditions, so we must prioritize continuous, resilient, inclusive, and disaster-resistant drinking water services," Diana said in her official statement, Thursday, January 19.

Diana said the central government through the Ministry of PUPR had provided a lot of support in the form of infrastructure development of the Drinking Water Supply System (SPAM) which had been handed over to regencies/cities throughout Indonesia.

Furthermore, managed by BUMD Air Drinking, so that the infrastructure that has been built can be sustainable and the target of increasing access to drinking water services to the community can be achieved immediately.

This can be realized if the local government provides full support so that the Regional-Owned Enterprises (BUMD) for Drinking Water has sufficient capital to develop its business independently.

Some of the support needed by the Regional Government's Regional Government for Drinking Water, namely providing regional capital participation, adjusting drinking water rates to meet the Full Cost Recovery (FCR) rate, and/or subsidies if the water tariff for drinking water for the Regional-Owned Enterprises (BUMD) is not yet FCR.

Another thing that is no less important to get the attention of the local government and relevant stakeholders is the national water loss rate (Non Revenue Water / NRW) which is still at 33.7 percent. This figure is 8.7 percent higher than the NRW tolerance limit allowed in operating SPAM.

Based on the 2022 BUMD Drinking Water Performance Book, of the 389 Regional-Owned Enterprises (BUMD) Drinking Water assessed by the Directorate General of Human Settlements at the Ministry of PUPR, 237 Regional-Owned Enterprises (BUMD) have healthy performance (60.93 percent), 101 Regional-Owned Drinking Waters with unhealthy performance (25.96 percent), and 51 Regional-Owned Enterprises for Drinking Water are still performing well (13.11 percent).

Meanwhile, the average technical coverage of piped drinking water services has reached 28.42 percent of the 30 percent target listed in the RPJMN.

Seeing the trend in the last two years, the average increase in the number of drinking water (SL) services served by BUMD Air Drinking increased by 4-5 percent per year or 600-700 thousand subscription connections.

However, this increase has not been accompanied by an increase in the number of Regional-Owned Enterprises for Drinking Water which has a Full Cost Recovery (FCR) rate. "There are still 242 Regional-Owned Enterprises for Drinking Water that do not yet have an FCR rate, so they are still operating at a loss," said Diana.

Meanwhile, Director of Drinking Water at the Directorate General of Human Settlements at the Ministry of PUPR, Anang Mukhlis, said that local governments must also encourage BUMD for Drinking Water to have a Business Plan that can be implemented in stages and sustainably.

On the other hand, the Regional-Owned Enterprises for Drinking Water must also strive to make operational cost efficiency and optimize revenue by reducing the level of water loss, as well as increasing subscription connections.

"This can be done independently or in collaboration between BUMD Air Drinking, between local governments, government cooperation with business entities or BUMD Air Drinking with other business entities," added Anang.

To support increased access according to its authority, the central government will provide program assistance in the context of optimizing, functionalization/rehabilitation or new development to increase drinking water service coverage for those who meet the agreed crime crime requirements, and provide a Drinking Water Grant Program based on output based.

The central government will also provide policy support to improve the capabilities of BUMD Air Drinking Human Resources through drinking water training at the Center for Drinking Water Technology, Directorate General of Human Settlements, Ministry of PUPR.