Water pollution is a major problem in Indonesia, impacting rivers, lakes, and seas. The main causes are human activities like domestic and industrial waste, as well as deforestation and erosion. Two case studies of highly polluted rivers are the Citarum River in West Java and Siak River in Riau Province. Eutrophication from excess nutrients is a significant issue for reservoirs on the Citarum River. Other cases of severe pollution have occurred in Southeast Asian seas and the Timor Sea in Indonesia from oil spills. While laws and regulations exist, enforcement remains a challenge, and polluters often face few consequences.

1. By
Yayat Dhahiyat
Water Pollution in Indonesia
(Problems and Impacts)
Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences
University of Padjadjaran

2. Water pollution
Defined as: the inclusion or
inserted living things,
elements, energy and or
other components into the
water by human activity so
that the water quality
decreases to a certain level
which causes the water
cannot function as
intended (PPRI 82/2001)

3. Main causes of water pollution
*Human activities
(anthropogenic):
*Domestic activities
*Agricultural, fisheries and
animal husbandaries
*Oil and mining activities
*Natural:
*Volcanic activities (i.e.:
Sulfur, cold lava dan thermal
pollution)

4. Pollution on freshwater
*River pollution:
*Silting
*Eutrophication (high
concentration of NO3, PO4 and
NH3)
*Heavy metals (Cd, Pb, and Cr)
*Characteristics of polluted
river:
*High turbidity
*Low transparency
*Low DO and high BOD & COD
*Low photosynthetic activity

5. River status in Indonesia
*Determined by human activities in concerned watershed
(DAS)
*Problems:
*Deforestation in upstream region
*High sedimentation and erosion on watershed (i.e.:
Citarum, Cimanuk and Bengawan Solo)
*Flood in rainy season and long drought in dry season
*Industrial activities which contribute to the pollution
of organic persistent pollutans (POPs) and heavy metals
*Urbanisation and mobilisation of inhabitants surrounds
the flood plain)

6. Water pollution case in Citarum
River (West Java)
*Domestic and industrial waste
*Industrial: 80% of wastes from the national textile industries
*Chemical parameters which exceeding standard water quality
i.e.: Zn, Fe, Mn, NH3, NO2, H2S (all of them are toxic to
aquatic organism), BOD and COD
*Declining fish biodiversity
*Massive sedimentation, prone to flooding
*Citarum River is the place where several rivers in Bandung
river basin are gathered: Cikijing River, Citarik, Cikeruh,
Cidurian, Cikapundung, Cisangkuy, Citepus dan Cibeureum
River.

7. Water pollution case in Siak
River (Riau Province)
*The fact of Siak River
*2004: 60 factories exists along the flood plain of Siak River
*2006: only 50 factories existed
*Industrial waste dumped (2004: BOD 8.012 tons/year,
COD 18.291 tons/year, TSS 9.936 tons/year) dan 66 % of
inhabitant dumped their domestic waste into Siak River
(4.500 tons/year)
*Impact to the biodiversity of fish: declining species of
fish (1960: 120 species, 1983: 103 species, 2004: 20
species). During the last 50 years, 100 fish’s species has
extinct

8. Kasus Eutrofikasi di tiga waduk
Daerah Aliran Sungai Citarum
SAGULING RESERVOIR
*Size of area: 5.600 ha, water hydropower (PLTA): 700-1.400
megawatts
*Floating fish cages (KJA): > 30.000 units
CIRATA RESERVOIR:
*Size of area: 6.600 ha, PLTA: 1.000 megawatt
*KJA: > 50.000 unit
JATILUHUR RESERVOIR
*Size of area: 8.300 ha, PLTA: 150 megawatts
*Irrigation: 240.000 ha
*Three of them are heavily polluted by organic waste: high
COD, BOD, NO3, PO4, NH3, H2S; low DO

9. River Initiative programs
*Clean River programme
(PROKASIH) by Ministry of
Environment Indonesia (KLH)
*Watershed (DAS)
Rehabilitation Programme by
Ministry of Public Works
Indonesia (PU)
*Reforestation of watershed
and upstream of the river by
the Ministry of Forestry

10. Efforts on controlling water pollution
*Water pollution control and
water quality restoration to
guarantee water quality
suitable with their standard
allocation (PPRI 82/2001).
*Example of assessments:
*End of pipe approach, by waste
water treatment plant (IPAL),
*Clean production approach, by
reducing, recycling dan reusing
of waste

11. Lake Eutrophication
*High content of nutrient N and P entering aquatic
environment both by from outside (allochtonous) and
from the inside ecosystem (autotonous)
*Problems:
*Algal blooms (ex: Microcystis)
*Massive growth of macrophytes (Eichornia crassipes,
Salvinia molesta, Hydrilla verticillata, etc)

12. Pollution case in Southeast Asia
*In Southeast Asia, 80% of domestic waste arrived on sea ecosystem
without any treatment, mainly came from waste of slum areas.
*In Indonesia organic waste pollution has doubled during the years of
1980-1993, entered South China Sea (Chou, 2009). Wastes came from
increasing domestic activities and hotel development along the coast.
*Another example in Southeast Asia, animal husbandaries well
developped in sub urban region in Hanoi, Bangkok and Manila,
producing waste. Live stock wastes rarely used for manuring but
somehow are dumped with little or without any treatment.

13. Pollution case in Southeast Asia
* Intensive usage of fertilizers, causing high P and N entering the water channel which
then finally ended at the sea. N input from various sources into the rivers in
Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam was approximately 300.000 ton N/year
(UNEP/GRA, 2006). N fertilizers, animal husbandaries’s waste and industrial waste
can be redeposited into the sea environment by athmospheric deposition” (Boyd and
Clay, 1998; Paerl et al, 2002).
* Aquaculture, including shrimp and fish culture are often over populated in small size
of ponds, producing high nutrients through their uneated food and their metabolic
wastes (Boyd & Clay 1998; San Diego-McGlone et al. 2008).
* Generally, 85 % P, 80-88 % C and 52-95 % N submitted into the food system in
aquaculture are lost into the environment (Wu 1995). In 1994 in Thailand
approximately 40.000 ha shrimp ponds produced waste approximately 5% N and % P
from the total population in Thailand.

14. Impact of eutrophication
*Increasing phytoplankton biomass and vegetation of flowering
plants (Spermatophyta)
*Algae bloom such as Microsystis, a toxic and inedible algae
*Increased benthos and periphyton biomass
*Changing in composition of the vegetation of flowering plants
*Increasing biomass of consumer species
*Increasing incidence of mass of fish deaths
*Reducing the diversity of species, usually dominated by one
species of phytoplankton or macrophytes, i.e. Microcystis sp
and Eichornia crassipes
*Reducing number of fish harvested
*Reducing water transparency
*Decreasing of oxygen in water bodies
*Increasing problems in water treatment for drinking purpose
*Reducing the aesthetic value of waters

15. Marine Pollution in Indonesia
*Main sources:
*Mining activities, i.e.: tailing disposals in gold mining
industries
*Leaking from oil tanker ship
*Kebocoran eksplorasi laut
*Montara case in Timor Sea on 21 August 2009 - 3 November
2009. Oil spills spread all over Indonesian and Australian seas,
approximately 2000 barrels/hari. Oil spills devastated sea
weed culture in Nusa Tenggara and other damage on aquatic
organisms which injured local fishermens and sea weed
farmers in Nusa Tenggara.

16. Marine pollution in Indonesia
*Oil spills on the seas has occured for several times in the North
Coast of West Java and South Coast of Central Java, damaging
coastal ecosystems on both areas.
*Similar tragedy also occured on Jakarta Bay and Riau waters, where
oily sludge was observed along the coast which came from the high
seas

17. *
Oil pollution in Timor Sea

18. Oil pollution in Timor Sea from the aerial
photograph

19. Oil pollution viewed
from the ship

28. Laws and regulations
*Laws and regulations concerning water pollution
for freshwater and marine environment have
existed both nationally and internationally.
*However, law enforcement for one who violate
the rules is still difficult to be implemented,
thus ‘polluters pay principle’ is hardly applied

29. International laws and
regulations
*International Convention for the Prevention of
Pollution from Ship (MARPOL),
*Convention on the Prevention of Marine
Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other
Matter,
*Protocol Relating ton Intervention on the High
Seas in Cases of Pollution by Substances other
than Oil.

30. National laws and regulations
*Ministry of Environment Indonesia has issued regulations such as :
*Law No. 32/2009 on the Protection and Environment Management,
*Republic of Indonesia Law No. 19/2009 on the Stockholm Convention
Confirmation of Persistence Organic Pollutants (POPs),
*Government Regulation No. 19/1999 on the Marine Pollution and Marine
Vandalism, Government Regulation No. 82/2001 on Water Quality
Management and Water Pollution Control.
*PPRI No. 74/2001 on Hazardous and Toxic Materials.

31. National laws and regulations Peraturan
*Ministry Decree on Water Pollution Control, such as:
*Ministry Decree (KepMen) LH No. 35/1995 on Clean River
Program,
*Kep Men LH No. 115/MENLH/2003 on Guidance for
Determination Status of Water Quality,
*Kep Men LH No. 51/2004 on Standard Quality for Marine
Waters,
*Per Men LH No. 12/2006 on Requirements and Guidance
on Waste Disposal to the Sea.

32. Conclussions
*Water pollution in Indonesia occurred on the rivers, lakes and Sea
which caused by degradable waste and undegradable waste, such as
domestic waste and industrial waste (i.e. heavy metals and
Persistence Organic Pollutants (POPs)).
*Contamination by organic materials enter the rivers and brought
into the lake causing eutrophication in lakes, which will cause
massive algal growth (algae blooming), and the mass growth of
water weeds such as water hyacinth (Eichorni acrassipes Mart
(Solms). This later will disturb the lake function and even enhance
the frequency of overturn which cause mass death of fishes.
*Many reports mentioned that mining pollution, leaking of oil tankers
and oil explosion on the sea are the causes of marine pollution. This
has damaged marine ecosystems and living marine organisms such
as coral reefs, sea grass, macro algae and mangroves.
*Laws and regulations already existed both in local, national and
international levels. However, law enforcement due to pollution
resulting damage on both freshwater and marine environment is
still hardly implemented. Polluters pay principle still difficult to be
applied.

33. Thank You