On September 10, 2024, Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir, the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, accompanied by Chris Green, U.S. Consul General in Surabaya, and Erin Nicholson, Deputy Mission Director of USAID Indonesia, visited the master meter site located in Pacar Keling village, Surabaya. The delegation was warmly welcomed by representatives from PDAM (Surabaya’s regional water utility), local government officials, and community members.
During her visit, Ambassador Lakhdhir explored the master meter program, which currently delivers drinking water services to 172 households in Pacar Keling village.
Ambassador Lakhdhir expressed her appreciation for USAID’s support through the USAID IUWASH PLUS and USAID IUWASH Tangguh programs, which collaborate with PDAMs and local communities to provide access to low-cost safely managed drinking water. She highlighted that the master meter system has been successful in serving communities in need.
“I’m also glad to see that our collaboration for this master meter system in this urban village involves participation from women’s groups,” she said.
USAID has supported the development and implementation of the master meter system for more than 15 years in Surabaya city. Through three legacy projects, and, currently through USAID IUWASH Tangguh, USAID Indonesia has initiated partnerships and replications to fund 213 master meters benefiting 9,968 households with new access to safe drinking water.
After accompanying the US Ambassador to Indonesia, Erin Nicholson, USAID Indonesia Deputy Mission Director visited the wastewater treatment plant in Randuagung village, Gresik district, which serves 124 households.
In her remarks, Ms. Nicholson emphasized the importance of collaboration between local governments, community groups, USAID IUWASH Tangguh, and the private sector in developing and sustaining sanitation facilities.
USAID IUWASH Tangguh will partner with PT Freeport Indonesia through a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative to enhance the capacity of community user groups in Randuagung and Sukorame village to further promote the sustainability and expansion of sanitation services.
In the same week, on September 12, 2024, Jeff Cohen, USAID Indonesia Mission Director accompanied by Deputy Minister for Regional Development of Bappenas, Tri Dewi Virgiyanti, and representatives from Bappenas and IUWASH Tangguh visited USAID IUWASH Tangguh sites in Jayapura city. They visited PT Air Minum Jayapura (PT AMJ) that supplies water for 38,213 households in Jayapura city and district.
MD Cohen explored USAID IUWASH Tangguh’s support for PT AMJ in developing geographic information systems (GIS) for improved asset management, customer mapping, and water leakage detection. The collaboration centers on enhancing the skills of staff in creating spatial data that led to the digitization of 90% of the water distribution network, including pipelines, intakes, and reservoirs.
“By digitizing our data, we can provide better service to our customers. For instance, we can now pinpoint the exact location of a leak or find a customer’s address more easily, reducing response times,” Entis Sutisna, Director of PT AMJ said.
During his mission to Jayapura city, The USAID Indonesia Mission Director also visited one of USAID IUWASH Tangguh’s intervention areas, Wai Mhorock village with a population of 17,448. The primary goal of the visit was to engage with local government representatives, community leaders, and groups to emphasize the critical importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration in expanding access to safe drinking water and sanitation services and promoting improved hygiene practices.
Drilled wells make up 85% of households’ primary water source in Wai Mhorock village while 95% of septic tanks have never been desludged. The USAID Indonesia Mission Director underscored the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships between USAID IUWASH Tangguh, local governments, and community members to address these issues.
“This partnership marks 75 years of development partnership between Indonesia and the United States. Together, let’s work hand in hand to create a future where every individual has access to resilient, safely managed drinking water and sanitation services,” he said.
USAID IUWASH Tangguh will facilitate capacity building to drive behavior change and empower communities to ensure equitable access to safely managed water and sanitation services in the village.
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