Groundwater Utilization in DKI Jakarta

The issue of land subsidence in the Central Business Area (DKI) of Jakarta has become one of the critical issues for Jakartans over recent years. The recent construction developments in Jakarta and uncontrolled exploitation of groundwater (air bawah tanah) have raised many potential problems in Jakarta and, according to some experts, may result in land subsidence that will lead to parts of Jakarta sinking to below sea level in a couple of years.

To anticipate and minimize the effect of land subsidence the government of Jakarta has issued Gubernatorial Regulation No. 129 of 2010 on Water Utilization in the Central Business District (‘Regulation’). The purpose of the Regulation is to control and maintain the quality of groundwater and to improve the sustainability of the aquifer under the DKI Jakarta. The Regulation addresses licensing, sets out certain obligations and prohibitions, as well as covering supervision and sanctions.

Pursuant to Article 2, each individual and legal entity has to obtain the required licenses, in the form of the groundwater drilling license and the groundwater utilization license, in order to utilize the groundwater. To obtain the groundwater drilling license, besides the administrative requirement, the applicant must also fulfill the technical requirements, which consist of constructing an absorption well and a water cistern with a water meter. The groundwater utilization license is valid for up to 3 years and can be extended upon the application of the license holder.

In order to maintain the sustainability of the aquifer, the license holder must prioritize the utilization of piped water. The utilization of groundwater being merely an alternative. Furthermore, the license holder must also protect and maintain the water resources by following the principle of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle, recharge and recovery (5R)’.

The Regulation also imposes certain obligation on the administration of DKI Jakarta, among others, to reduce water utilization by at least 20% and to introduce wastewater management facilities in order to maintain and improve the quality of wastewater and to allow its re-use.

According to Article 13, any violation of the obligations and prohibition stipulated in Articles 7, 8, 9 and 10 are subject to administrative sanctions in the form of, among others, written notice or temporary suspension of the groundwater drilling or utilization.

It should be noted that following the major land subsidence in DKI Jakarta, the government of Jakarta will closely monitor the implementation of this Regulation in practice, as stated by the head of the Regional Environmental Management Agency (Badan Pengelola Lingkungan Hidup Daerah) of DKI Jakarta, Peni Susanti.

This Regulation has been in force since 8 July 2010.