A group of experts went to Indonesia for five days to study concepts for decentralised wastewater treatment, sanitation and water supply. Additionally the group was to exchange experiences and views with respective Indonesian colleagues. The participants comprised governmental decision makers from national and provincial levels being responsible for water and sanitation, managers of water utility companies, representatives of relevant associations as well as scientists. The event gathered five participants each from Cambodia and Laos PDR, two persons from China (Yunnan Province) and 16 experts from all over Vietnam.
The tour had been jointly organised by the South East Asia Water Utilities Network (SEAWUN) Head Office and BORDA’s Regional Office Mekong-China, both in Hanoi, while the entire preparation and organisation in Indonesia was done by BORDA’s Regional Office in Yogyakarta.
The study tour could be realised only through a generous co-financing covenant by InWEnt (Capacity Building International, Germany), which together with BORDA covered the entire event. The tour marked one of the first contributions towards the CDIA (City Development Initiative for Asia) that was launched by ADB and KfW earlier this year in Manila.
Under the leadership of the Director of SEAWUN’s secretariat, Mr. Kim Quyen, and .jpg)
BORDA’s Regional Director for Indonesia and the Philippines, Mr. Frank Fladerer, the group held meetings with the National Development Planning Board (BAPPENAS), the Indonesian Water Supply Association (PERPAMSI), the Ministry of Public Works (PU) and BORDA Network Partner NGOs. It visited a range of wastewater treatment and water supply facilities in Jakarta, Tangerang, Yogyakarta and Surakarta.
Following are some highlights which draw particular attention by the participants:
BAPPENAS: After an introduction into the past and current sanitation situation in Indonesia BAPPENAS gave an overview about the sanitation program in Indonesia, which is based on the participation of the central government, local governments, communities and organizations. In this national program the central government provides strategies for drinking water, wastewater, solid waste and drainage (called institutional based policies), while local governments and communities are responsible for implementing the strategies.
At B.E.S.T. (Bina Ekonomi Sosial Terpadu) the participants learned about the Community Based Sanitation (CBS) approach, developed by BORDA and its partner organisation. The participants also visited a so called MCK++ facility which not only offers public toilets but also cabins for taking a bath and a sales point for clean water. The visit triggered a lot of discussions particularly with participants from Cambodia and Vietnam as these have similar programs but have not yet proceeded like Indonesia.
Surakarta: The water supply and wastewater treatment company provided an introduction about its services. The company uses two different approaches, i.e. centralised as a normal case and decentralised systems for areas that are not connected to the central sewerage system. A site visit at a DEWATS system for 80 households highlighted the flexibility of such approach. In this particular case the settler, ABR (anaerobic baffled reactor) and AF (anaerobic filter) are positioned underneath a road.
Furthermore a DEWATS plant for home industries was visited. It treats tofu (soy been) production wastewater from 40 households. It is remarkably that the plant is able to reduce the COD from 9000 (inlet) to 150 (outlet), while the maintenance fee is just 0.45 $ per household per month.
At a winding-up meeting representatives of each group summarised their impressions and conclusions: There was a general feeling of gratitude for having gained a lot of new ideas and having shared experiences with colleagues from other countries of the region. In particular participants from Vietnam confirmed that DEWATS would be a suitable technology for their country, especially for SMEs, hospitals, etc., while CBS-DEWATS could be implemented in some cities in Vietnam.
Country-wise follow-up meetings with the participants in the near future will explore how the newly gained insights could be applied and implemented in the participating countries.