Vulnerability of Water Supply in Nias

By: Arviani Zalukhu.

One important thing that must be owned by young people is sensitivity to the problems around them. There are various ways to get to know the surrounding problems, one of which is by participating in activities that introduce young people to social issues around. I discovered it when I know Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta,  a place for students to observe their surroundings. There are various activities to reveal  the reality that I did not realize before, such as the Water Security program. By participating several activities, I realized the importance of water covering of the quality, availability, and other standard related to healthy water.

I am Arviani Benedicta Zalukhu, from North Nias, North Sumatera, a student of Governance Science at STPMD APMD. Nias island is one of the islands on the west side of Sumatra which is rich with stories about culture, customs, and the uniqueness of nature and its people. The natural beauty of Nias can be seen in the diversity of beach panoramas and sea waves. However, it does not mean that Nias is free from problems that threaten people’s lives. In this article, I wrote the water problem in Nias, based on one news I read with the title, "Water clogged, Director of PDAM (state company for water provision)Tirtanadi South Nias branch admits the pump engine damage."

Based on the news above, the problem that occurred in Nias was the difficulty of the people in getting clean water because the water supply from the PDAM was clogged, especially in the South Nias area due to damaged water pumps, pipes leakages, and limited capacity of water storage. The main problem is only one pump unit operates of four pump units available. So, when a problem in water distribution occurs, it disrupts people's life. Like the problems in South Nias, the people faced water crises for their daily needs, they found difficulties to access clean water for drinking and other needs.

Every problem has its solution. The shortage of water supply capacity can be solved by extending water storage and increasing human resources for maintaining the equipment. It must be admitted that the government has development priorities for more urgent things or have a direct impact to the community, for example, road construction sometimes damages the water pipes or water leakage from the old ones. Apart from PDAM, the community can take advantage of existing resources, for example, rainwater. When rainwater is collected, the community can consume the water by doing filtration and electrolysis,

I had new experience and understanding after I participated in the Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta activity  inviting students to learn about the wastewater treatment plant, the river water treatment plant that convert river water into drinking water, and the water treatment plant owned by PDAM Yogyakarta City. Young friends, let’s start caring your the surrounding social problems. ***