Special Report: SE Asian countries share water worries

Singapore hosted the Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) for the second time, June 28 to July 2. With the theme "Sustainable Cities -Infrastructure and Technologies for Water", the event invited various groups interested in achieving water sustainability, including municipal leaders and businesspeople. The event comprised of an expo, leaders' summit, conventions and business forums. To promote the event in Indonesia, the event committee invited The Jakarta Post's Triwik Kurniasari. This is what she learned.

Many problems persist in providing potable water in most country's in the Asia-Pacific region, as the development of water sources is not keeping pace with population growth and projected demand.

Strong economic growth in the region and population pressures, compounded by increased urbanization, have led to a sharp rise in the use of treated water. Pollution and climate change meanwhile pose ever present threats to the precious resource.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) reported that in 2004, 635 million people in the Asia-Pacific region did not have access to safe drinking water. These are some of the 1.86 billion people that currently do not have access to adequate sanitation.

The huge number of slum areas in the region complicates the problem.

According to the ADB's latest data, the Asia-Pacific region has 554 million slum dwellers: 64 percent of the global total. At least 40 percent of these people also lack access to piped water or sanitation services.

"This demographic requires investment and infrastructure and service deliverance in resource management," said Anthony Jude, director of energy and water division of ADB's Southeast Asia Department.

"From a regional perspective, I can tell you that urban and rural water supply and sanitation are priority areas for the ADB in Southeast Asia."

The forum was attended by delegations from a number of Southeast Asian nations including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR).

In Indonesia, the ADB works hand-in-hand with the government to develop metropolitan sanitation infrastructure and projects that will improve public health, reduce pollution and better the lives of the people. They also work to improve wastewater collection, sanitation services and treatment and solid waste management.

Mayor of Palembang Eddy Santana Putra, who represented Indonesia at the forum, said the capital of South Sumatra lacks the technical assistance and technology needed to improve water services.

"We currently provide 85 percent of our residents with clean water, but we need more trained experts to improve our water management," he said, adding that the administration hopes to increase supply to 95 percent of residents by 2012.

He said that during the SIWW, members of the Palembang administration received training from Singapore's Public Utilities Board on how to control water revenue and detect leaks.

The administration, Eddy said, is in the process of installing new water pipes to expand capacity and reach new areas.

"Although we have plenty of water, we are encouraging people to save more water, consume it wisely and efficiently, and keep water resources *rivers* clean, because we might face water scarcity in the next five or 10 years. We will never know," he said.

He said that he aimed to lessen the rate of water consumption, which stands at 200 liters per person, per day.

Meanwhile, sewage and sanitation systems remain a major problem, with septic tanks being the predominant method of waste management in Palembang.

"Palembang and other big cities in Indonesia, including Jakarta, are behind in sewage systems," said Eddy. "We should learn from other countries about how to manage the wastewater and treat it properly."

Cambodia, which has an area of more than 181,000 square kilometers, also struggles to supply water to its 13 million citizens.

Ek Son Chan, general director of the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, said that as of 2005, 68 percent of Cambodia's urban population and 30 percent of its rural population had access to clean water.

"We have set a target of increasing the number to 74 percent in urban areas and 40 percent in rural areas by 2010," he said.

In a bid to achieve this goal, the Cambodian government has set aside US$70.4 million to achieve a production capacity of 10,000 cubic meters per day and lay 195 kilometers of pipes by the end of this year.

"In 2015, we will undergo the second project with a production capacity of 130,000 cubic meter per day and 195 kilometers of distribution networks," Ek said.

The Lao PDR is meanwhile aiming to provide clean water to its 5.8 million people.

As of 2008, Sommad Pholsena, the Minister of Communications, Transportation, Post and Construction, said the country supplied more than 83 million cubic meters of clean water to serve 825,500 citizens, or nearly 140,000 households in 54 towns and villages.

The country, he said, has 61 water treatment plants. In urban areas, 51 percent of the population is served.

"We target to increase the availability of safe and piped water to 80 percent of the urban population by 2020," Sommad said.

He said that the Lao government had plans to expand services, with a focus on poor areas, in cities across the country, including the capital of Vientiane, secondary towns like Pakse, Kaysone, Thakhek and Luangprabang, as well as small towns that do not have piped water.

Brunei Darussalam, which supplies safe, potable water to 100 percent of its 385,000 citizens, is nonetheless also building infrastructure including dams, treatment plants, reservoirs, pipe mains and storm drains and improving technology to cater for growing demand.

The ADB is working to assist governments in the Asia-Pacific region to provide clean water through the Water Financing Program 2006-2010, which is expected to provide more than 95.5 million people access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation.

ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda encouraged governments in Asia and the Pacific to continue to invest in water infrastructure in spite of the economic crisis lest they face fundamental threats to economic growth and social development.

Kuroda said economic recessions could present opportunities, noting that a shortage of public funding for water sector infrastructure could be filled by the private sector.