Challenges of Drinking Water Supply in Indonesian Cities: A Brief Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25077/aijaset.v5i02.160Abstract
The supply of safe drinking water in the developing world, particularly in Indonesia, has remained one of the major challenges. Millions are still without access to clean water, which inflicts public health and has negative implications for socioeconomic development. This paper elaborates on the multifaceted challenges facing the drinking water supply in Indonesian cities, from inconsistent policies and lack of autonomy for Water Agencies to aging infrastructure, unreliable power supply, and inadequate investment. Brief case studies from Jakarta, Surabaya, and Padang plainly bring out the specificity of issues in various cities. The paper suggests that solutions can lie in policy reform, empowering the water agencies, fighting corruption, greater investment in infrastructure, making the most of pricing and cost recovery, and strategic engagement with the private sector. Unless these are addressed, such challenges will persist in hindering the progress of Indonesia toward the universal access goal for all urban residents to sufficient, safe, reliable, and affordable drinking water
References
WHO, Drinking-water, 2023. Available at https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water
UNICEF/ WHO, Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water, 2015. Available at https://www.unicef.org/media/50806/file/Progress_on_Sanitation_and_Drinking_Water_2015_Update-ENG.pdf
The Indonesia Central Bureau of Statistics, Persentase Rumah Tangga yang Memiliki Akses Terhadap Layanan Sumber Air Minum Layak (Persen), 2023. Available at https://www.bps.go.id/id/statistics-table/
Indonesia Ministry of Health Services, Profil kesehatan Indonesia, 2022. Available at https://www.kemkes.go.id/id/indonesia-health-profile-2022
The Ministry of National Development Planning Indonesia, SDGs Indonesia Dashboard – Bappenas, 2017. Available at https://sdgs.bappenas.go.id/
A. S. Pambudi, and T. Kusumanto, “Water Resources Governance in Indonesia Towards Environmental Sustainability Along with Social and Economic Development”, in Environmental Governance in Indonesia, Vol. 61, Environment & Policy, A. Triyanti, MA. Indrawan, L. Nurhidayah, M. A. Marfai, Eds. Cham: Springer, 2023, pp. 289 – 311. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-15904-6_16
D. Daniel, A. H. Wulaningtyas, S. Satriani, E. F. Devi, A. Kumar, and J. Willetts, “Community-based rural water supply: Indonesia country risk profile, prepared as part of DFAT KONEKSI grant “Future proofing a basic social service: Climate resilient rural water supply in Indonesia, 2023 [Online] Available at https://www.uts.edu.au/sites/default/files/2024-02
S. Sutomo, S. Sagala, B. Sutomo. S. Winarti, and G. Sanjaya, “Accelerating the Provision of Safe Water Supply in Urban and Rural Areas of Indonesia”, Kesmas. Natl. Public Health J., Vol. 16, pp. 137-144, 2021, DOI: 10.21109/kesmas.v16i3.5225
D. Anugrah, S Akhmaddhian, and I. M. Putri, “The Responsibilities of Regional Water Supply Companies in Fulfilling Clean Water Needs are Associated with the Limited Liability Company Law”, Unifikasi: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum, Vol. 9, pp. 134 – 143, 2022. https://doi.org/10.25134/unifikasi.v9i2.6809
World Bank, Indonesia: Expanding Access to Clean Water for the Rural Poor, 2019. Available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2019/07/29/indonesia-expanding-access-to-clean-water-for-the-rural-poor
S. Husain, V. Ilat, and D. Maradesa, “Evaluation of Drinking Water Tariff Determination at The Regional Drinking Water Company (PDAM) of Sangihe Islands Regency”, Jurnal LPPM Bidang EkoSosBudKum (Ekonomi, Sosial, Budaya, dan Hukum), Vol. 6, pp. 377 – 388, 2022
WHO, Financing and implementing District and City Water Safety Plans, 2022. Available at https://www.who.int/indonesia/news/detail/02-06-2022-financing-and-implementing-district-and-city-water-safety-plans
A. S. Alisjahbana, and E. Murniningtyas, Tujuan Pembangunan Berkelanjutan di Indonesia: Konsep, Target dan Strategi Implementasi. Bandung; Unpad Press, 2018.
D. Sunardi, D. N. Chandra, B. E. Medise, N. R. Mutu Manikam, D. Friska, W. Lestari, and P. N. Choiri Insani, “Water and Beverages Intake Among Workers Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia”, Front Nutr., Vol. 9, pp. 832541, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.832641
UTS-ISF, UI and UNICEF, Climate resilient urban sanitation in Indonesia: Hazards, impacts and responses in four cities. Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney: Sydney, 2021. [Online] Available at https://www.unicef.org/indonesia/media/14421/file/
A. A. Resmana, The unseen: merits, threats, and tales of groundwater, Indonesia Water Portal, 2022 [Online] Available at https://www.indonesiawaterportal.com/news/the-unseen-merits-threats-and-tales-of-groundwater.html
Water for Women, “Monitoring Safely Managed Water and Sanitation Services: Case Studies from Water for Women, Case Study 2. Self-supplied and Safely Managed: Urban Monitoring Challenges in Indonesia”, University of Technology Sydney - Institute for Sustainable Futures, 2022. [Online] Available at https://www.waterforwomenfund.org/en/news/resources/Monitoring-Safely-Managed-Water-San-Case-Study-Report.pdf
World Bank Group and Asian Development Bank, “Climate Risk Country Profile: Indonesia”, 2021. [Online] Available at https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/2021-05/15504-Indonesia%20Country%20Profile-WEB_0.pdf
The Indonesian Government, Law No. 17 of 2019 on Water Resources [Online] Available at https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Download/113525
The Indonesia Presidential Regulation No. 37 of 2023 on the National Policy on Water Resources [Online] Available at https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Download/
S. Satriani, I. S. Ilma, and D. Daniel, “Trends of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Research in Indonesia: A Systematic Review”, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health., Vol. 19, pp. 1617, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031617
The Indonesian Ministry of Public Works and Housing, No. 20 of 2006 on the National Policy and Strategy for developing the Drinking Water Supply System [Online] Available at https://www.iwwash.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/permen_20_2006.pdf
The Indonesian Government Law No. 26 of 2007 on Spatial Planning [Online] Available at https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Download/29499/
Indonesia Community Scale Drinking Water and Sanitation Provision/ Pamsimas, “Ringkas Program”, 2023. Available at https://pamsimas.pu.go.id/
The Indonesian Government Law No. 36 of 2009 on https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Download/28107
V. Elysia, “Air Dan Sanitasi: Dimana Posisi Indonesia”, in Seminar Nasional FMIPA Universitas Terbuka, 2018, pp. 157-79.
D. Retnowati, E. Susanti, R. P. Astuti, S. D. Purnomo, H. D. Lestari, and H. Harsuti, “Analisis permintaan air perusahaan daerah air minum (Studi empiris pada PDAM Tirta Satria di Kota Purwokerto”, J. Ilmu Ekonomi dan Pembangunan., Vol. 6, pp. 1195-1206, 2023. https://doi.org/10.20527/jiep.v6i2
USAID, Indonesia High-priority country plan 2022 – 2027, 2022. Available at https://www.globalwaters.org/sites/default/files/indonesia_hpc_plan.pdf
A. Y. Maulida, S. Suratman, and D. Isnaeni, “Prinsip Asas Tanggung Jawab Perusahaan Daerah Air Minum (PDAM) Terhadap Konsumen Terkait Pemenuhan Kebutuhan Air Bersih”, J. Ilmiah Ilmu Hukum, Vol. 27, p. 1682, 2021.
A. Umami, H. Sukmana, E. A. Wikurendra, et al., “A review on water management issues: potential and challenges in Indonesia”, Sustain. Water Resour. Manag., Vol. 8, pp. 63, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-022-00648-7
W. Hadipuro, “Indonesia’s Water Supply Regulatory Framework: Between Commercialisation and Public Service?”, Water Altern., Vol. 3, pp. 475-491, 2010
Asian Development Bank, “Indonesia: Water supply and sanitation sector assessment, strategy, and road map”, Mandaluyong City: Asian Development Bank, 2013. [Online] Available at https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/institutional-document/33808/files/indonesia-water-supply-sector-assessment.pdf
Indonesia corruption watch, “Corruption in the Water Management Sector Threatens Citizens' Lives”, 2024. Available at https://www.icw.or.id/en/corruption-water-management-sector-threatens-citizens-lives
World Bank Group, “Clean water for millions: How Indonesia met the challenge”, 2020. Available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/05/29/clean-water-for-millions-how-indonesia-met-the-challenge
N. Ardhianie, D. Daniel, P. Purwanto, and K. Kismartini, “Jakarta water supply provision strategy based on supply and demand analysis”, H2Open Journal, Vol. 5, pp. 221–233, 2022. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/h2oj.2022.076
O. M. A. Bello, Y. Hamam, P. R. Page, K. B. Adedeji, and O. Piller, “Solving Management Problems in Water Distribution Networks: A Survey of Approaches and Mathematical Models”, Water, Vol. 11, pp. 562, 2019. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030562
L. A. Evangelista, B. M. Brentan, and G. M. Lima, “Rehabilitation of water distribution networks: when and how to rehabilitate”, J. Hydroinformatics, Vol. 25, pp. 1329–1340, 2023. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/hydro.2023.206
H. Saghi, and A. A. Aval, “Effective Factors in Causing Leakage in Water Supply Systems and Urban Water Distribution Networks”, Am. J. Civ. Eng, Vol. 3, pp. 60-63, 2015. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajce.s.2015030202.22
T. Edwin, T. Ihsan, and W. Pratiwi, “Uji Toksisitas Akut Logam Timbal ( Pb ), Krom ( Cr ) Dan Kobalt (Co) Terhadap Daphnia Magna Acute Toxicity Test Of Metal Lead ( Pb ), Chromium ( Cr ) And Cobalt (Co) On Daphnia Magna, Dampak: Jurnal Teknik Lingkungan Unand, Vol. 14, pp. 33–40, 2017. https://doi.org/10.25077/dampak.14.1.33-40.2017
D. Penney, M. Yantha, and L. Swatuk, “A Megacity’s Hydrological Risk: An Analysis of Water Security Issues in Jakarta City, Indonesia”, in The Political Economy of Urban Water Security under Climate Change, L. Swatuk, C. Cash, Eds. International Political Economy Series. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08108-8_4 2022
A. L. Reis, M. A. Lopes, A. Andrade-Campos, and C. Henggeler Antunes, “A review of operational control strategies in water supply systems for energy and cost efficiency”, Renew. Sustain. energy rev., Vol. 175, pp. 113140, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.113140
T. Horvat, H. Bendix, V. Bobek, and H. Skoko, “Impacts of investments in infrastructure projects on emerging markets’ growth: the case of East African countries”, Econ Res-Ekon Istraz, Vol. 34, pp. 2135–2161, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2020.1860799
S. Lima, A. Brochado, and R. C. Marques, “Public-private partnerships in the water sector: A review”, Util. Policy, Vol. 69, pp. 101182, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2021.101182
P. P. Oktaviani, E. A. Muhtar and N. Karlina, “Public-Private Partnership in Water Supply of DKI Jakarta”, J. Manajemen Pelayanan Publik, Vol 4, 2020. https://doi.org/10.24198/jmpp.v4i1.27214
The Jakarta Post, “Beyond the surface: Public-private partnerships in Indonesia’s drinking water supply”, 2024. Available at https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2024/03/21/beyond-the-surface-public-private-partnerships-in-indonesias-drinking-water-supply.html
S. Yang, “Case Study: Potable Water for Jakarta Indonesia Neighborhoods”, 2016. [Online] Available at https://wcponline.com/2016/03/15/case-study-potable-water-for-jakarta-indonesia-neighborhoods/
I. Enang, D. Asenova, and S. J. Bailey, “Identifying influencing factors of sustainable public service transformation: A systematic literature review”, Int. Rev. Adm. Sci., Vol. 88, pp. 258-280, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852319896399
P. Debaere, and A. Kapral, A. “The potential of the private sector in combating water scarcity: The economics”, Water Secur., Vol. 13, pp. 100090, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2021.100090
P. Luo, S. Kang, A. Apip, M. Zhou, J. Lyu, S. Aisyah, M. Binaya, R. K. Regmi, and D. Nover, “Water quality trend assessment in Jakarta: A rapidly growing Asian megacity”, PLoS One, Vol. 14, pp. e0219009, 2019. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219009.
P. W. Putri, and F. Moulaert, “Spatial Practices and the Institutionalization of Water Sanitation Services in Southern Metropolises: The case of Jakarta and its Kampung Kojan”, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Vol. 41, pp. 926-945, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.12549
A. S. N. Syaban, and S. Appiah-Opoku, “Building Indonesia’s new capital city: an in-depth analysis of prospects and challenges from current capital city of Jakarta to Kalimantan”, Urban, Planning and Transport Research, Vol. 11, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1080/21650020.2023.2276415
M. H. Imaaduddiin, I. Saud and R. P. Santoso, “Recommendations for planning water infrastructure in the Surabaya City area with the influence of watershed characteristics to realize sustainable settlement drainage that is safe from flooding”, IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci., Vol. 1095, pp. 012033, 2022, DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/1095/1/012033
A Pamungkas1, K P Tucunan1, A Navastara1, H Idajati1 and N A Pratomoatmojo , “A Conceptual Model for Water Sensitive City in Surabaya”, IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci., Vol. 79, pp. 012037, 2017 DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/79/1/012037
M. O. Triono, “Access Clean Water in The Community of Surabaya City and Their Bad Impacts Clean Water Access to Surabaya Community Productivity”, J. Ilmu Ekonomi Terapan, Vol. 3, pp. 143–153, 2018. https://doi.org/10.20473/jiet.v3i2.10072
P. S. Komala, A. Nur, and S. Septanisa, “Real demand survey of the water supply system in Padang city”, AIP Conf. Proc. Vol. 2230, pp. 040005, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0002397
A. E. Angelica, A. R. Alfian, and S. P. Rahmah, “People's readiness to face water crisis disaster in Padang slump areas”, E3S Web Conf., Vol. 464, pp. 11002, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202346411002
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Taufiq Ihsan, Freddy Ilfan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
