Diki Sudiyanto and Trisnawati’s family is one of many families in Parit Tokaya village in Pontianak city that rely on well water for daily activities like bathing and washing and on rainwater for consumption.
“The well water is often reddish, and it tastes sour. Perhaps it is because of the peat roots,” Trisnawati said about the well’s water quality. Although she admits that her familiy has not experienced any serious adverse health effects in utilizing well water and rainwater, Trisnawati often finds that laundry washed with well water also become reddish due to the water’s high peat content.
In addition, Diki and Triswawati are also worried that it will become increasingly difficult to rely on these two water sources. “During the long dry season, the well water recedes and rain doesn’t fall so that it is difficult to get water,” said Diki. Climate change and changes in upstream land use both contribute to changes in water quality and water availability.
With their house not yet having access to electricity to power a pump, Diki and Trisnawati need a longer rope and find it heavier to draw the water to the surface. “I also want to have cleaner water like the one from the water utility,” added Diki.
The opportunity came in December 2022, when a community leader relayed information on the free water utility connection piping network program—which was initiated by Pontianak’s local government—to residents in Parit Tokaya Village, including Diki and Trisna. They immediately agreed to become one of the ten beneficiary households. The installation process was completed in January 2023, and since then Diki’s family has been able to access water from the utility for daily activities.
“When we use the water, it flows straight into the house. It provides faster access without the need to draw it first from the well,” said Trisnawati. However, they still occasionally well water and rainwater.
In Parit Tokaya village, some households have not been connected to the local utility due to limited financial capacity and lack of understanding of the importance of piped water. USAID IUWASH Tangguh works with local communities, the public water utility, Pontianak city’s Health Office, Public Works Office, and the local planning authority (Bappeda) to educate the community on the importance of having and using PDAM water for daily activities.
USAID IUWASH Tangguh will also support PDAM Tirta Khatulistiwa to assess the impacts of climate change on water resources, to help ensure continuous water supply in the future, while collaborating with USAID’s SEGAR (Sustaining Environmental Governance Across Regions) project to help address land use change issues upstream, such as land conversion that increases water acidity that impact water quality.
The partnership between USAID IUWASH Tangguh and the Pontianak city government is expected to address the challenges of behavioral change, lack of service provider facilities for access to drinking water, safe sanitation, and sustainable water resources management, thus enabling more households to enjoy safe drinking water and sanitation services, like Diki and Trisnawati’s family.
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