Jakarta says it will soon accept bids to manage three ultrafiltration water centers.
Ultrafiltration produces potable water by straining of dirty water through semipermeable membranes using hydrostatic pressure.
“The three [centers] can produce 4,500 liters of clean water a second. The tender plan is in July or August, so they can be operational by the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012,” regional water company PDAM Jaya CEO Mauritz Napitupulu said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.
Potential sites for the centers are Pejompongan in Central Jakarta, the West Flood Canal, the Cengkareng drain, Krukut River and Pesanggrahan River, he said.
Water in Jakarta’s rivers is no longer fit for consumption, according to the City Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD).
“[Jakarta] has plans to increase its water supply by building a facility at the Jatiluhur dam, but this plan will be realized in 2013 in cooperation with the Public Works Ministry. Currently the Ministry is still assessing the fitness and the cost,” Mauritz said.
Reports say that Jakarta will face a drinking water crisis by 2020 and that subsidence that will reduce elevations by 5 meters by 2050.
