Exposure to Bedog Water Treatment Plant (IPA) of Drinking Water Company in Yogyakarta Municipality

By: Kresensia Risna Efrieno.          

Water is a basic human need, but the water availability does not meet the people’s needs because of some reasons, such as, the quality and far location of water sources from the settlements. Thus, water treatment and distribution systems are needed to provide and distribute decent water to every house in need. These activities are related to process and distribution managed by the Regional Drinking Water Company (PDAM) called  PDAM Tirtamarta in Yogyakarta. How does PDAM Yogyakarta manage this drinking water? Where does it come from and what are the challenges it faces? These questions made the students of Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta curious to take a closer look at how water treatment is like and where the water source used by PDAM Tirtamarta Yogyakarta comes from. The exposure to PDAM Tirtamarta Yogyakarta is part of the Water Security training done by Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta followed by dozens of students from various regions in Indonesia who are currently studying in Yogyakarta (Thursday, 18/11/2021).

The participants visited the Bedog Drinking Water Treatment Plant (IPA) located in Trihanggo, Gamping district. Here, Robid Lokananta, the head of the Bedog IPA Production Office, explained the history of PDAM Yogyakarta, which had been established in 1918, which formerly was managed by the Dutch government. Until now PDAM Tirtamarta Yogyakarta has 6 (six) Water Treatment Plants (IPA): Padasan, Gemawang, Karanggayam, Bedog, Pengok and Kotagede. He further explained, the customers reach thirty thousand connections, consisting of households, offices, and hotels. “Our customers are not only the residents in Yogyakarta but also customers in Sleman and Bantul regency because at that time there was no drinking water company in each regency. Now, we no longer open customers’ registration outside of Yogyakarta municipality because PDAMs are available in every regency,” he said.

In the water treatment process, raw water sources obtained from groundwater include springs, shallow wells, and deep wells as many as 58 units. The processing begins with a sedimentation process to settle sand and mud, aeration to increase oxygen in the water, filtration using activated lime, quartz sand, and gravel, then enters the reservoir. Before the water is distributed to customers, there is a dosing process or the chemical process to purify the water and kill bacteria in the water. The participants observed the water treatment plant directly from the well that flows into the sedimentation tank, through the aeration tank, to the water filtration installation, and enters the reservoir before being sent to the customer.

This exposure revealed the challenges faced by PDAM Tirtamarta, Yogyakarta. It is acknowledged that PDAM services are still far from ideal for making ready-to-drink drinking water due to various obstacles, including the age of old and new pipes, various pipe materials such as iron, concrete, fiber, and plastic which affect the water quality. Even  It is revealed that there are some leaks in the distribution pipe reaching 50%. It does not mean that there are no efforts to solve the problems, but it is not easy, because of difficulties in detecting leaks of old pipes at the depth of more than 2 meters. In the future, the distribution pipes will gradually be replaced with HDPE plastic pipes to make them more elastic, rusty proof, less leakage and less metal elements. Another challenge faced is the decrease of water discharge in the wells due to the direct impact of massive residential, office, and hotel development without considering the water ecology in the catchment area. During the pandemic, there was also a decrease in income due to the decreasing water consumption by hotel customers.

During the exposure, students seemed enthusiastic to express their opinion that water treatment in PDAM is not as easy as it seems to be as written above. Some participants also admitted that they had learned something new because they had only heard explanations and read about water treatment so far. Now, the experiences equipped them as a provision to understand the water security problem. Students should take part to think and to act for water conservation, maintain its quality and distribution to the community fairly.

By: Kresensia Risna Efrieno.

Hearing the word ‘sewage' may bring negative assumptions and even antipathy, but in the reality, human life cannot be separated from waste. The Big Indonesian Dictionary defines waste as production residue, materials that have no value or value for ordinary or primary purposes in manufacturing or use, damaged or defective goods in the production process. There are several kinds of waste, from liquid, solid, and gas. The unwell-managed waste will cause disturbance or pollution. Ignoring pollution will damage the earth as a habitat for humans and other creatures into an uninhabitable place. The pollution problems range from garbage, air pollution, and water pollution. The waste problems can be managed with the 3R concept (reduce, reuse and recycle), reduce items that easily become waste, reuse, and recycle. Air pollution can be minimized by planting trees that produce oxygen, also the regulations to limit air pollution. Then, what about water that is polluted due to liquid waste, including domestic liquid waste, such as water used for washing, bathing, septic tanks, and household activities?

Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta with students are looking for answers how to treat domestic wastewater by holding exposure or field study at the Center for Wastewater and Urban Drinking Water Infrastructure Management (PIALAM) in Sewon, Bantul, Yogyakarta Special Region (Thursday, 11/11/2021). In the first part, the students received an explanation from the head of the Operations and Maintenance Section, Sudarno, that Balai PIALAM is responsible for organizing the network management and residential wastewater management system to improve centralized wastewater system services and management of drinking water network systems across regencies/municipal as well as sustainable supervision of drinking water services to regencies/municipal. He also explained the services at Balai PIALAM for Wastewater Treatment Plants (IPAL), Fecal Waste Treatment Plants (IPLT), and how the waste treatment process is carried out in three regencies/municipal, namely Yogyakarta, Sleman, and Bantul. There are two ways to distribute it to the waste treatment site, namely domestic liquid waste flowing from pipes connected to homes and processing sewage sludge which is transported using special trucks.

In the second part, the students with Heni, one of the operational staff observed the domestic wastewater treatment process, where waste flows from the inlet pipe to the pre-treatment which consists of coarse filtration, lift pump, grit chamber, and fine filter in which waste filtered and pumped to the Grit Chamber or sand deposition and through fine filtration. After that, the waste is distributed into aerobic and anaerobic settling ponds. The silt from the pond is transported to a drying pool, while the water enters the maturation pond and is added with a water purifier before being distributed into the river. Interestingly, fish is used as an indicator of the feasibility of treated water, if the fish dies it means that the exposure of waste is still strong and it applies to the opposite condition.

The fecal sewage treatment process is separated between solid waste and liquid waste using a Huber Sludge Acceptance Plant (SAP) pump. From here the waste will be sent to the waste collection point, and the liquid waste is channeled to the Sludge Separator Equipment (APLT). The sludge will be channeled into a holding tank while the wastewater will receive coagulation and flocculation treatments to reduce odors, bind sludge and purify water, including removing bacteria. From this result, it will be seen whether the water has been at the safe level or not. If not, then the process is repeated, and if it is considered safe, the water will be channeled to the IPAL installation.

The heavy rain during the activity did not dampen the enthusiasm of the exposure participants to explore every corner of PIALAM, but some students admitted that they could not persist being in that location because they were not used to the very strong smell of sewage. Through the exposure of the Water Security program, Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta brings students closer to the reality of waste that threatens the existence of water and presents new experiences and reflections, as well as raises awareness of the importance of water to emerge ideas that they can do something to minimize waste, protect water and the environment.

By: Trustha Rembaka.          

The slogan above welcomes everyone who enters the Regional Drinking Water Supply System for Yogyakarta-Sleman-Bantul (SPAM Regional Kartamantul) in Klangon, Argosari, Sedayu, Bantul. The words above remind people to rethink the existence of water and an invitation to act as a form of concern for water to anticipate water loss or damage in the future. The Kartamantul Regional SPAM became the destination for exposure or study visits for Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta students in the Water Security program on Thursday, November 11, 2021. Here, the students observed the installation and learned the process of drinking water treatment that’s supplied from the Progo river for drinking water company (PDAM) Yogyakarta municipality, Sleman regency, and Bantul regency.

The head of the production at SPAM Bantar, Bayu Winarno expressed his appreciation because the students have an interest in water and management. Furthermore, he explained that the installation is part of the president's strategic project to provide clean water and utilize surface water. Currently, the installation is managed by the Regional Clean Water Company (PDAB) Tirtatama in the Special Region of Yogyakarta as a provider of clean water for PDAM Kota Yogyakarta, Sleman, and Bantul since 2020. The installation here is complete because it has the process from intake, pre-sedimentation, dosing, coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and Clearwell including laboratories.

Continuing the exposure, the students went around the location with Baehaqi Avfarisqa, a production staff, to observe firsthand the water treatment process from the intake stage from the Progo river with a capacity of 400 liters/sec, which is pumped up through a pipe to a pre-sedimentation installation in the form of a garbage filter and deposition of sand and stone. Next is the coagulation and flocculation process, where the water is stirred and added chemicals to bind the mud particles, purify the water and kill bacteria using certain materials. The mud particles will agglomerate and become fine sediments so that the water will gradually become clear and bacteria-free. The next stage is filtration, where the water flows through a filter consisting of a layer of activated lime or zeolite, quartz sand, and gravel. Furthermore, the water enters the Clearwell or reservoir that holds clean water before being distributed through pipes to the installations of PDAM Yogyakarta, Sleman, and Bantul. From the available data, clean water from SPAM Bantar supplies water needs in 6 districts in the Sleman regency, all districts in Yogyakarta Municipality, and three districts in the Bantul regency.

The students also observed the standardization of clean water quality for SPAM Bantar. The laboratory staff revealed water indicators based on Health Ministry Regulation (Permenkes) 492 of 2010, that water can be consumed if the pH is in the range of 6-7, TDS is below 500 ppm/lt, and 0 for Ecoli and Coliform. This check is carried out twice a day internally and periodically by the public auditor.

The exposure experience opened the participants' horizons regarding water treatment, as a form of conservation for necessary deep water and preventing land subsidence caused by uncontrolled extraction of deep water. In addition, the participants also found an enrichment in understanding that in the future water has a strategic role as a means of realizing prosperity, so the management of the use of surface water needs to be developed and the strives for water not only for the availability but also for its high quality and easy accessibility for the community. Water, care now or lose later.