Sustainable Water Resources Management (2022) 8:63

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-022-00648-7

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

A review on water management issues: potential and challenges

in Indonesia
Afriza Umami1,2 · Hadid Sukmana3 · Edza Aria Wikurendra4,5 · Edit Paulik1

Received: 26 July 2021 / Accepted: 18 March 2022 / Published online: 7 April 2022
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022

Abstract
Indonesia is a tropical country that only a rainy season and a dry season with high rainfall, and these conditions make Indo-
nesia a country that is abundant in water, will not experience drought, or have difficulty getting clean water for daily needs.
Contrary to reality, some areas in Indonesia are dry, and difficult to get clean water for daily needs. This article reviews the
issue of clean water resources in Indonesia regarding potential, challenges, health impacts, and government decisions. The
literature review was used to examine the existing problems to obtain an overview of the actual conditions related to the
water management issues in Indonesia. Indonesia has 308 billion/m3 of rainwater potential entering groundwater basins,
has 21.28% good performance dams, and 10.8 million hectares of the swamp that can be developed to accommodate water.
However, water availability continued to decline to 1200 ­m3/year in 2020, slowing infrastructure development in water
resource management, the lack of available storage for rainwater runoff, and the implementation of eco-efficient that is less
than optimal are the main challenges. The impact is health problems in Indonesia in the form of an increase in diarrhea cases
by 11%/year and dengue fever by 6.5%/year. The government's effort to provide access to clean water is the development of
the Community-Based Water Supply and Sanitation Program, which has been successfully implemented for 15.4 million
people. However, in the future, it is necessary to conduct in-depth studies related to institutions in the management of clean
water resources in Indonesia.

Keywords Water resources · Potential · Challenges · Government decisions · Indonesia

Introduction

* Afriza Umami Nowadays, many countries face environmental problems,

umami.afriza@med.u-szeged.hu especially water resources. One of the points in the Sustain-
Hadid Sukmana able Development Goals (SDGs) in the environmental pillar
hadidsukmana@gmail.com is to ensure that people achieve universal access to clean
Edza Aria Wikurendra water and sanitation. Indonesia's ecological problems are
edza.wikurendra@phd.uni-szie.hu related to the country's high population density and indus-
Edit Paulik trial globalization, which caused air pollution, traffic conges-
paulik.edit@med.u-szeged.hu tion, garbage disposal, and lack of water supply and sanita-
tion. Besides, other challenges include overexploitation of
1
Department of Public Health, Albert Szent‑Györgyi Medical marine resources, large-scale deforestation (mostly illegal
School, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
deforestation), and related forest fires, which have caused
2
Stikes Muhammadiyah Bojonegoro, Bojonegoro, Indonesia severe pollution in parts of western Indonesia, Malaysia, and
3
Doctoral School of Environmental Science, University Singapore (Sunderlin and Resosudarmo 1996). Government
of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary programs and community participation can help reduce envi-
4
Doctoral School of Management and Organizational Science, ronmental problems, especially water resources.
Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Science, Adequate quality water resources are a prerequisite for
Kaposvár, Hungary
economic development and ecological integrity (Wu et al.
5
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health, Universitas 2018). Many factors affect water quality, such as natural
Nahdlatul Ulama Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia

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processes (e.g., weather, rainfall, soil erosion), anthropo- of water quality, floods and droughts, groundwater deple-
genic activities (e.g., agriculture, urban and industrial tion, subsidence, erosion and deposition, and seawater intru-
activities), and increased use of water resources (Todd sion are likely caused by human-made objects. The negative
et al. 2012). Therefore, water resource is a severe problem impact of water pollution and related diseases has always
in the world. Freshwater resources may become scarce in been a threat to human health (Fulazzaky 2014).
the future, threatening the use of water resources, especially The issue of clean water resources is currently a particular
for drinking water and economic development (Vörösmarty concern for developed and developing countries, especially
et al. 2010). Protecting water resources from pollution is in Indonesia. Indonesia is a developing country that cannot
highly necessary (Witek and Jarosiewicz 2009) to improve be separated from the problem of providing clean water for
environmental health in the community. its people. The purpose of this article is to review the litera-
In the past few decades, Indonesia's environmental ture on the issue of clean water resources in Indonesia based
health priorities have changed. In the 1970s, the focus was on the potential, challenges, health impacts, and government
on improving agricultural and irrigation practices due to decisions. Not many similar studies have been published to
the need to address food shortages in the face of popula- provide an overview of water resources in Indonesia. This
tion growth. During the 1980s, efforts to develop water article can be a reference for other researchers to develop
infrastructure expanded and introduced a community- research on the issue of water resources in Indonesia.
centric approach (World Health Organization and Ministry
of Health Republic of Indonesia 2017). In the 1990s, the
Dublin-Rio Principles raised the international community's Potential
awareness of various issues related to water use, including
the importance of local-level decision-making (“Dublin-Rio Nationally, water availability in Indonesia reaches 694 bil-
Principles,” 1996). lion cubic meters per year. This amount is a potential that
The lack of safe sanitation has far-reaching implications can be utilized, but the fact is that currently, only about 23%
for human well-being also an overlooked impact on envi- has been used, of which only about 20% is used to meet
ronmental sustainability (Andersson et al. 2016). This situ- raw water needs (Idris 2021). Some of the rainwater that
ation is particularly challenging in urban areas of developing falls to the ground surface will enter into groundwater basins
countries, where most of the population growth occurs in with a potential of more than 308 billion cubic meters. The
the country (Spuhler et al. 2018). These areas are character- most significant potential volume for groundwater basins is
ized by high population density, the low financial strength Sumatera, 110 billion cubic meters in Table 1.
of their citizens, and an informal sanitation sector (Ramôa Indonesia has more than 5590 rivers, most of which have
et al. 2016). If sanitation facilities exist, they are often just insufficient capacity to avoid natural disasters from flooding,
basic systems such as latrines and septic tanks (Munamati except for rivers on the island of Kalimantan and several
et al. 2017). Indonesia currently demonstrates a solid com- rivers in Java. Generally, rivers originating from volca-
mitment to environmental health, including a host of com- noes significantly differ in the riverbed slope between the
munity- and institution-based initiatives in the 2000s to upstream, central, and downstream areas. High rainfall and
improve sanitation and access to safe water sources (Robin-
son 2011). Population growth, urbanization, intensive agri-
cultural development, industrial growth, and environmental Table 1  Groundwater basin potential
demands have increased the demand for water and land. The Island Basin
development and growth of a city or area are in line with the Amount Area ­(km2) Volume
area's ecological and social problems, and these problems (million
will gradually cause the impact of changes to the existing ­m3)
environmental conditions. Worldwide, an estimated 800 mil-
Sumatera 65 270,656 109,926
lion people remain without access to an appropriate source
Jawa 80 80,936 41,334
of drinking water, and in parallel, the global water demand
Kalimantan 22 209,971 68,473
for manufacturing is expected to increase by 400% between
Bali 8 4381 1598
2000 and 2050 (Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2016).
Nusa Tenggara 47 41,425 10,139
On the other hand, the conversion of forest and agricul-
Sulawesi 91 37,768 20,244
tural land to commercial and private uses has led to a rapid
Maluku 68 25,830 13,174
transformation of agricultural production, spatial structure,
Papua 16 52,662 43,400
social structure, land ownership, and urban and rural land
Total 397 723,629 308,288
market (Satterthwaite et al. 2010). An unstable environment
will bring many adverse effects. For example, deterioration Source: (Central Bureau of Statistics 2020)

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Sustainable Water Resources Management (2022) 8:63
erosion upstream will cause a very high amount of sediment
to enter the river. The increased sediment inflow eventually
causes the problem of silting up the river, especially in the
downstream area, which is relatively more sloping and flat-
ter. Hence, floods often occur in the lowlands (Nepal et al.
2014). The rivers are grouped into 133 river areas consist-
ing of 13 district authority river areas, 51 provincial river
areas, and 69 central river areas located in cross-provincial,
cross-country, and national strategic rivers (Darwis 2018).
The condition of the main rivers varies greatly from good,
moderate, to bad conditions, as reported by the Ministry of
Environment in Table 2.
Two hundred thirty-five dams have been built to increase
the utility and availability of water. Based on the classifica-
tion according to the height and storage volume, dams are
divided into (a) dams with a height of more than or equal
to 15 m with a volume greater than or equal to 100,000 ­m3
(total 100 units) and (b) dams with a height of fewer than
15 m with volume greater than or equal to 500,000 m ­ 3 (total
135 pieces) (Kementerian PPN/Bappenas, Infrastruktur
Indonesia 2003). In addition to irrigation in general, swamps
for agriculture have also been carried out to support increas-
ing national food production. The area of swampland is still
an estimate, and several researchers and several agencies
made estimates. Several studies have shown varying results
for the location of swampland in Indonesia, as shown in
Table 3.
Of the total swamp area in Indonesia, data from the Min-
istry of Public Works (2007) states that only 10.8 million
hectares can be developed, consisting of 8.4 million hec-
tares of tidal swamps and 2.4 million hectares of non-tidal
wetlands. Of most of the potential swamps, 91.32% are in
Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Papua. Of the total 10.8 million
hectares of potential swamps, 2.9 million hectares of tidal
swamps and 1 million Lebak swamps have been reclaimed
by the government, the private sector, and the public. Of
the total 3.9 million hectares of swampland reclaimed, only
about 2.6 million hectares have been used for agriculture,
plantations, ponds, and others.
Watershed condition
The problem of water in Indonesia is characterized by
increasingly unfavorable environmental conditions that
accelerate water scarcity (Pawitan and Haryani 2011). Eco-
logical damage is caused, among others, by the degrada-
tion of the carrying capacity of upstream watersheds due to
uncontrolled forest destruction. The critical land area has
reached 18.5 million hectares (Samsuri et al. 2019).
This phenomenon has caused a decrease in the abil-
ity of the watershed to store water in the dry season. The
frequency and magnitude of flooding have increased, and
higher sedimentation has resulted in siltation in reservoirs
Page 3 of 15 63
and rivers, thereby reducing their capacity and drainage. In
1999, it was detected that from 470 watersheds in Indonesia,
62 are in critical condition, which is predicted from the ratio
of the maximum and minimum flow of rivers that have far
exceeded their normal limits (Handayani and Asyary 2019).
The degradation of the riverbed exacerbates this situation
due to the mining of class C minerals in various rivers,
which has caused damage (Flatley et al. 2018).
The rate of deforestation increased rapidly from 1.6 mil-
lion ha/year to 2.1 million ha/year in 1985–2001. Changes/
conversions of forest areas cause the rate of deforestation
into settlements, industry, and mining, as well as the increas-
ing prevalence of illegal logging. In less than 20 years, the
forest area in Indonesia will decrease by 15–32.5 million
hectares (OECD 2019). Reducing forest areas can reduce
its biodiversity, including other environmental services see
Fig. 1. In addition, the deteriorating condition of the forest
affects the water supply for human life, both groundwater
and surface water. Environmental pollution cases also tend
to increase. Advances in transportation and industrialization
that are not accompanied by clean technology have a nega-
tive impact, especially on the urban environment. Rivers in
urban areas are polluted by industrial and household waste.
Soil conditions are increasingly polluted by chemicals both
from solid waste and fertilizers. The low awareness of the
community also causes this pollution problem to live clean
and healthy with good environmental quality (Leung et al.
2020). The above conditions raise concerns about an imbal-
ance in the overall ecological system in supporting human
life and the sustainability of development in the long term.
Water balance
The national water needs are presently concentrated in
Java and Bali, mainly for drinking water, household, urban,
industrial, agricultural, and others. Table 4 shows the bal-
ance of water availability and water demand in river areas
in Indonesia. All river areas in Indonesia in 2010 were in a
surplus condition, or the amount of available water was still
more significant than the water demand. However, the Water
Usage Index (WUI) results explain that conditions on Java,
Bali, and Nusa Tenggara are critical whether or not they
include water needs for maintenance flows. Around 70%
of Indonesia's water reserves are located on the islands of
Kalimantan and Maluku-Papua (Kardono 2007). Meanwhile,
there is a water deficit in urban areas such as Java and Suma-
tra. This means that the availability of water, both surface
and groundwater, can no longer meet the population's needs.
Looking further at the conditions in Java, Bappenas
(2008) has conducted a more in-depth study to see the water
balance per district/city so that it can project the condition
of water availability compared to its needs until 2025, as
shown in Fig. 2.
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Table 2  River volume and hydrological conditions of several rivers in 2006

Province/main river Location Watershed area ­(km2) Volume ­(106 ­m3) Hydrologi-
cal condi-
tion

Sumatera Utara
Barimun Seroja, Labuhan Batu 6.781,00 5.606,00 Good
Bingei Binjai, Langkat 1.621,30 789,30 Good
Asahan Asahan, Pulau Rakyat, Pulau Raja 4.669,40 2.355,00 Good
Sumatera Barat
Batang Kuantan Lima Puluh Koto, Payahkumbuh 1.421,00 1.705,00 Poor
Riau
S. Rokan Lubuk Bendahara, Kampar 4.848,00 4.383,00 Medium
S. Siak Pantai Cermin, Siak Hulu, Kampar 1.716,00 1.966,00 Good
Batang Kampar Lipat Kain, Kampar 3.431,00 6.017,00 Good
Batang Kuantan Lbk Ambacang, Kuantan 7.464,00 6.767,00 Medium
Jambi
S. Batanghari Batang Hari, Jambu 8.704,00 51.091,00 Good
Sumatera Selatan
S. Musi Sungai Rotan, Gelumpang, Muara 6.990,00 7.974,00 Good
Enim
Lampung
Way Seputih Buyut Udik, Lampung Tengah 1.648,00 584,40 Poor
Way Sekampung Pujo Rahayu, Gedong Tataan, 1.696,00 1.275,00 Poor
Lampung Selatan
Jawa Barat
S.Cimanuk Kertasemaya, Indramayu 3.305,00 7.195,00 Good
Jawa Tengah
S. Pemali Brebes, Brebes 1.250,00 1.937,00 Poor
S. B. Solo Jebres, Jebres, Surakarta 3.206,70 2.510,00 Poor
S. Serayu Kedunguter, Banyumas, Banyumas 2.631,30 3.479,00 Medium
D I Yogyakarta
S. Progo Duwet, Kalibawang, Kulon Progo 1.712,30 1.205,20 Poor
Jawa Timur
B. Solo Lamongan 17.300,00 9.056,00 Good
Banten
S. Cisadane Sukasari, Babakan, Tangerang 1.146,00 2.645,00 Poor
S. Ciujung Cidoro Lebak, Rangkasbitung, Lebak 1.363,90 1.646,00 Poor
Kalimantan Barat
S. Kapuas Manggu, Ngabang, Pontianak 3.710,00 9.498,00 Good
Kalimantan Tengah
S. Barito Dusun Tengah, Barito Selatan 1.531,00 237,80 Poor
S. Kapuas Kapuas, Kapuas 4.741,00 14.766,00 Medium
S. Kahayan Kurun, Gunung Mas 5.591,00 11.535,00 Good
S. Katingan Kasongan, Barito 4.741,00 32.732,00 Medium
S. Mentaya Mentaya, Kotawaringin Timur 4.765,90 8.019,00 Good
S. Lamandau Arut, Kotawaringin 1.968,00 3.676,00 Poor
Sulawesi Tengah
S. Palu Palu Selatan, Palu 3.062,00 910,20 Medium
Sulawesi Selatan
S. Rongkong Ampana, Sadang, Luwu 1.030,00 1.001,00 Medium
S. Cinranae Madukeling, Sengkang, Wajo 6.437,00 3.583,00 Poor
S. Walanae Mong, Mario Riwano, Soppeng 2.680,00 2.095,00 Poor

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Sustainable Water Resources Management (2022) 8:63 Page 5 of 15 63

Table 2  (continued)
Province/main river Location Watershed area ­(km2) Volume ­(106 ­m3) Hydrologi-
cal condi-
tion

S. Sadang Kabere, Cendana, Enrekang 5.760,00 2.756,00 Medium

Sulawesi Tenggara
L. Roraya Lainea, Konawe Selatan 1.747,00 482,50 Poor

Source: (Firmansyah et al. 2021)

Table 3  Estimation of swamp Island Swamp land Reference

area in Indonesia
Peat (ha) Mineral soil (ha) Swamp (ha) Total (ha)

Indonesia 16,349,865 Polak (1950)

Sumatera 13,211,000 Mulyani and Sarwani (2013)
Kalimantan 12,764,000
Papua 12,980,500
Sulawesi 469,000
Total 39,424,500
Sumatera 4,200,150 4,742,790 8,942,940 Catling (1999)
Kalimantan 3,156,000 3,872,350 7,028,350
Papua 1,906,500 5,872,000 7,778,500
Sulawesi tad tad –
Total 9,262,650 14,487,140 23,749,790
Sumatera 6,407,750 6,804,511 13,212,261 Subagjo et al. (1992)
Kalimantan 5,352,500 5,645,323 10,997,823
Papua 3,129,750 9,866,000 12,995,750
Sulawesi – 1,115,814 1,115,814
Maluku – 775,500 775,500
Total 14,890,000 24,207,148 39,097,148
Sumatera 4,798,000 1,806,000 2,786,000 9,390,000 Susilawati et al. (2016)
Kalimantan 4,674,800 3,452,100 3,580,500 11,707,400
Papua 1,284,250 2,932,690 6,305,770 10,522,710
Sulawesi 145,500 1,039,450 608,500 1,793,450
Total 10,902,550 9,230,240 13,280,770 33,413,560
Sumatera 6,590,345 5,862,806 12,453,151 Mulyani et al. (2010)
Kalimantan 4,447,523 5,259,973 9,707,496
Papua 2,011,780 8,293,251 10,305,031
Sulawesi 127,744 1,212,67 1,340,421
Maluku 24,885 478,975 503,860
Total 13,302,276 21,107,682 34,309,958

Water dam
Of the 235 dams in Indonesia, about 17.02% (40 pieces) of
them were low-performing; 12.34% (29 pieces) were moder-
ate, and only 21.28% (50 pieces) were still good; the remain-
ing 98 dam conditions have not been recorded (Ministry of
Environment and Forestry 2019).
The results of monitoring the volume of several major
reservoirs in Indonesia, especially in Java, show that in
2008 the volume of pools generally decreased from April
to October. Cirata Reservoir in West Java experienced the
most significant decrease in water volume, 89%. Mean-
while, the Sermo Reservoir in Yogyakarta experienced the
smallest decline, around 33%. The percentage decrease
in reservoir volume during the dry season indicates dam-
age to the water catchment function in the upstream part
(Ministry of Environment and Forestry 2019).

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Fig. 1  Land cover conditions in 1992 (top) and 2003 (bottom). Source: (Ministry of Environment and Forestry 2019)

Table 4  Balance of water Island Water avail- With maintenance flow

availability and water demand ability ­(m3/s)
in river basin in Indonesia, 2010 Water require- Surplus ­(m3/s) WUI (%) Information
ment ­(m3/s)

Jawa 5004,64 2681,41 2323,23 54 Medium critical

Sumatera 25,511,72 7924,79 17,586,93 31 Light critical
Kalimantan 33,849,43 9153,64 24,695,79 27 Light critical
Sulawesi 10,356,85 3066,59 7290,26 30 Light critical
Bali and Nusa Tenggara 1705,53 781,32 924,21 46 Light critical
Maluku 3505,87 2605,45 900,42 74 Medium critical
Papua 33,802,79 12,533,1 21,280,68 37 Light critical
Jawa 5004,64 2078,52 2926,12 42 Light critical
Sumatera 25,511,72 1799,78 23,711,94 7 Not critical
Kalimantan 33,849,43 430,4 33,419,02 1 Not critical
Sulawesi 10,356,85 687,03 9669,82 7 Not critical
Bali and Nusa Tenggara 1705,53 502,87 1202,66 29 Light critical
Maluku 3505,87 249,49 3256,38 7 Not critical
Papua 33,802,79 72,46 33,730,33 0 Not critical

Source: BPS–Statistics Indonesia (2020)

WUI Water Usage Index

Looking at the built-up storage capacity, as reported by Water quality

The World Bank (2019), Indonesia ranks relatively low com-
pared to other countries. The United States ranks at the top
­ 3/person/year. Indone-
with a total storage capacity of 6000 m
sia in 2005 only had water reservoirs of 30 ­m3/person/year,
compared to Thailand, which had reached 1200 ­m3/person/
year. Only Ethiopia, whose position is below Indonesia, is
10 ­m3/person/ year in Fig. 3. For this reason, in the future,
the construction of large-scale and mainly small-scale water
reservoirs must continue to be encouraged.
Unsafe water is one of the significant sources of disease in
Indonesia, and the lack of adequate sanitation facilities is a
primary cause of fecal contamination of urban water sup-
plies. An important indication of the threat this poses to the
urban is that water, except bottled water, is not safe to drink.
High levels of chemical contamination were detected in most
well, especially in the particular capital region of Jakarta.
The resulting impact of poor water quality is the occurrence

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Sustainable Water Resources Management (2022) 8:63
Fig. 2  Water balance per regency/city in Java Island. Source: Bappenas (2008)
Fig. 3  Dam capacity per capita per year (­m3/person/year). Source:
WSP-EAP (2008)
of various diseases and directly impacts humans. The dan-
gers of water pollution caused to human health are divided
into two as direct and indirect hazards (Slamet Soemirat
Page 7 of 15 63
2009). The immediate risks can be caused by consuming
contaminated water directly or through other intermediaries
and using dirty water for daily activities. The potential for
groundwater pollution is very high if leachate or wastewater
infiltration from human activities. The primary source of
this pollution is a garbage dump that is not appropriately
managed.
Tap water samples in Jakarta in 1992 reveal a 73% rate of
coliform contamination, with a 55% rate in drinking water
from wells. The 2010 National Basic Health Research found
that many Indonesian households (32.5%) rely on low-
quality drinking water. Surprisingly, approximately 83% of
good-quality drinking water in urban areas, and 62% in rural
areas, come from commercially packaged water. This com-
mercialization of drinking water adds to household spend-
ing and worsens conditions for the poor, who already spend
two-thirds of their income on food (Viglione et al. 2009).
Water quality can be determined by testing the water,
and three tests can be conducted, including physical, chemi-
cal, and microbiological tests. The traditional method for
13
63 Page 8 of 15
water quality assessment uses a comparison of water quality
parameters with standard limits (Noori et al. 2019). Water
quality can be determined by several parameters, such as
physical parameters including dissolved solids, turbidity, and
temperature; chemical parameters include dissolved oxygen
(DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), pH, and metal
content (Yuliastuti 2011).
Quality standards are levels of an organism, energy, sub-
stance, or component, including pollutants with a limita-
tion in the water (Yuliastuti 2011). Water pollution can be
controlled if every activity that produces liquid waste and
discharges into waters or rivers must meet the water qual-
ity standards (Yuliastuti 2011). Water quality changes will
disrupt the ecological balance, produce polluted water unfit
for domestic use and threaten human health (Ngwira and
Lakudzala 2018).
In March 2020, at The World Water Forum II in The
Hague, it was stated that Indonesia is in the top ten countries
with renewable water resources. However, in 2025, Indone-
sia is predicted to become one of the countries experiencing
a water crisis due to weaknesses in water management. The
problem includes demand for water resources, the potential
capacity of nature to supply water, and the inefficient use of
water (BPS–Statistics Indonesia 2020).
The quality of water in Indonesia is still not good.
According to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry
(2019), from 98 rivers in Indonesia, 54 rivers were lightly
polluted, 6 rivers were lightly polluted to moderate pollu-
tion, and 38 rivers were lightly polluted to heavily polluted.
This situation is worse than the previous year in 2018. Of
the 97 rivers in Indonesia, 67 rivers were lightly polluted,
5 were lightly polluted to moderate pollution, and 25 were
heavily polluted.
The Water Quality Index also did not significantly
increase from 2015 to 2019, around 50 (see Table 5). The
Water Quality Index is an indicator that shows the level of
water quality in an area measured based on ten parameters,
such as DO, Fecal Coliform, COD, pH, BOD, N ­ H3-N, TP,
TSS, ­NO3-N, and TDS, according to the National Sanitation
Foundation Water Quality Index (NSF-WQI).
Table 5  Water Quality Index in
Years Water
Indonesia
Quality
Index
2015 53
2016 50.2
2017 53.2
2018 51.01
2019 52.62
Source: BPS–Statistics Indone-
sia (2020)
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Sustainable Water Resources Management (2022) 8:63
On the other hand, the monitoring results conducted in
2008 by 30 Provincial Environmental Impact Management
Agencies on 35 rivers in Indonesia showed that water quality
(see Table 6), in general, was heavily polluted compared to
the water quality criteria of class II.
Challenges
Projected clean water demand
A global study of water conditions in the world, presented
at the World Water Forum II in The Hague in 2000, pro-
jected that in 2025, there would be a water crisis in several
countries. Although Indonesia is one of the ten water-rich
countries, a water crisis is expected to occur as well, as a
result of mismanagement of water which is reflected in high
levels of water pollution, inefficient water use, consider-
able fluctuations in river water discharge, weak institutions
and inadequate laws and regulations. The island of Java,
which covers 7% of the total land area of Indonesia, only
has four and a half percent of the actual national freshwater
potential. Still, this island is inhabited by about 65% of the
total population of Indonesia. This condition illustrates that
the potential for water scarcity in Java is enormous. Let us
look at the availability of water per capita per year. Java has
only 1750 cubic meters per year, which is still below the
adequacy standard of 2000 cubic meters per capita per year.
This number will continue to decline so that in 2020, it is
estimated that only 1200 cubic meters per capita per year
will be available. If this phenomenon continues, there will
be limitations in the development and implementation of
growth in the regions, because the carrying capacity of water
resources has been exceeded (Bappenas 2008).
Improvement of operation and maintenance
of clean water infrastructure
In urban areas, the drinking water supply generally comes
from wells. Still, due to the minimal number and capacity,
large cities are forced to use raw water from rivers that pass
through the town or flow not far from the city. The water
is first purified through a water purification installation. In
line with the increasing demand for raw water supply for
drinking water that must be met from river water flows, the
more significant the role of water resource infrastructure
in supporting the procurement of raw water. An outstand-
ing example of raw water procurement for drinking is raw
water for DKI Jakarta, mainly supplied from the Jatiluhur
dam on the Citarum river. Raw water for Jakarta's drink-
ing water taken from the reservoir is channeled through the
West Tarum Main Canal, part of the Jatiluhur Irrigation
Network. Thus, supporting water resources infrastructure
Sustainable Water Resources Management (2022) 8:63 Page 9 of 15 63

Table 6  Water quality status River Province River point Quality status
of several rivers in Indonesia
in 2008 Krueng Aceh NAD 6 Heavy pollution
Deli Sumatera Utara 11
Batang Agam Sumatera Barat 6
Kampar Riau 10 Heavy pollution
Indragiri Riau 14
Rokan Riau 15
Siak Riau 14
Batanghari Jambi 12 Medium pollution
Air Bengkulu Bengkulu 6 Medium pollution–heavy pollution
Musi Sumatera Selatan 8 Heavy pollution
Rangkui Bangka Belitung 6 Heavy pollution
Way Sekampung Lampung 6 Medium pollution
Ciliwung DKI Jakarta 15 Heavy pollution
Kali Angke Banten 6 Heavy pollution
Citarum Jawa Barat 6 Heavy pollution
Progo Jawa Tengah 6 Medium pollution–heavy pollution
Progo DI Yogyakarta 7 Heavy pollution
Bengawan Solo Jawa Timur 10 Heavy pollution
Tukad Bandung Bali 6 Heavy pollution
Jangkok NTB 6 Heavy pollution
Dendeng NTT 5
Kapuas Kalimantan Barat 6
Mahakam Kalimantan Timur 6
Kahayan Kalimantan Tengah 6 Heavy pollution
Martapura Kalimantan Selatan 6 Heavy pollution
Bone Gorontalo 6 Medium pollution
Tondano Sulawesi Utara 8 Heavy pollution
Palu Sulawesi Tengah 6
Tallo Sulawesi Selatan 6 Heavy pollution
Jeneberang Sulawesi Selatan 6 Heavy pollution
Konaweha Sulawesi Tenggara 6 Medium pollution
Batu Gajah Maluku 3 Heavy pollution
Batu Merah Maluku 3 Heavy pollution
Tabobo Maluku Utara 6 Medium pollution–heavy pollution
Anafre Papua 6

Source: Ministry of Environment and Forestry (2019)

to meet raw water needs for both drinking water and other
household needs is very important. Given the importance
of water resource infrastructure in supporting the provision
of raw water, it is imperative to continuously improve the
operation and maintenance of the raw water infrastructure
that has been built to maintain and maintain the reliability
of raw water supply services.
Adding a dam
In addition to maintaining the existing functions, new large
and small dams are urgently needed to increase the raw
water-storage capacity. This needs to be done immediately
due to the increasing demand for raw water and the growing
population. The construction of large-scale dams can also be
used multi-functionally with other sectors, such as irrigation
to support food security, electricity supply. The structure of
new dams is also expected to overcome seasonal variations
and spatial imbalances in water availability which causes
flooding in the rainy season and drought in the dry season.
With the new dam, the extraordinarily abundant water avail-
able in the rainy season can be stored and used in the dry
season.
The addition of the new dam is also an effort to carry
out conservation upstream which is intended to maintain
and maintain the existence, nature, and function of water

13
63 Page 10 of 15
resources so that the availability and quality of water can
be guaranteed to meet various needs on an ongoing basis
for both present and future generations. In addition, the
construction of new dams is also an effort to control floods
which currently often occur downstream, especially in some
urban areas. For example, to reduce the risk of flooding that
hits the lower reaches of Bengawan Solo every year, the
Government is targeting the construction of seven reservoirs
upstream of the Bengawan Solo, which is one of the national
priorities in the National Medium Term Development Plan
(RPJMN) 2010–2014.
Appropriate technology and eco‑efficient
In facing the increasingly complex challenges of raw water
supply and management, it is not enough to supply raw water
through the addition of dams. Still, it must also be supported
by developing appropriate technologies such as water purifi-
cation methods. Efforts to develop and innovate appropriate
technologies need to be carried out continuously, and the
role of existing research institutions such as LIPI, BPPT,
and universities is vital. Furthermore, it is also essential to
disseminate the technology development, especially to the
government, to be adopted in national development policies.
One alternative in overcoming the problem of water
resources is to put forward the concept of environmental
sustainability in using water resources, known as the eco-
efficient concept. Eco-efficient water resource management
is a continuous design, construction, operation, and main-
tenance by minimizing negative environmental impacts.
Eco-efficient is a new paradigm and strategy to achieve the
goal of sustainable water resources development through
integrated planning and management of ecological and
economic efficiency together. Eco-efficient, initially known
in the industrial sector, is defined as providing production
goods or services with competitive economic value but by
reducing the ecological impact to be in line with the environ-
ment's carrying capacity (Park et al. 2010). In other words,
eco-efficient can be interpreted as a down-scaling of the con-
cept of sustainable development to be implemented in real
terms by considering economic efficiency and ecological
efficiency (Boulanger 2010). UNESCAP, in 2008 tried to
reformulate this eco-efficient concept to be adopted in the
public sector. One of the biggest challenges in application
in the public sector is how this eco-efficient approach can
provide added value and does not require new costs.
Based on the experience of various Asian and Pacific
countries that have implemented eco-efficient water
resources infrastructure policies, applying the eco-efficient
concept can balance economic growth and the environment
(green-growth). Countries in the Asia Pacific region that
have implemented eco-efficiency include South Korea,
Japan, Singapore, China, New Zealand, Australia, and
13
Sustainable Water Resources Management (2022) 8:63
Brazil. This approach is not a new thing for Indonesia, and
it is just that it has not been well conceptualized and applied
en masse in practice. System of Rice Intensification (SRI),
biopori, micro-hydro, and efforts to collect rainwater to be
reused are some examples of technologies that have applied
the eco-efficient concept. Considering the challenges and
problems ahead, the Government of Indonesia has adopted
the eco-efficient concept as one of the national policy direc-
tions in water resources infrastructure, especially in increas-
ing the coverage and quality of raw water services. In the
context of raw water supply, eco-efficient concepts that can
be applied include rainwater through rainwater harvesting.
This rainwater harvesting technology is a simple technology
that the community can easily use. Besides helping increase
the availability of raw water for drinking water, livestock,
irrigation, this rainwater harvesting technique is also help-
ful for conservation, namely as a recharge for groundwater.
Health impact
Due to diseases and premature deaths in Indonesia, poor san-
itation and hygiene are responsible for the significant disease
burden. Given that poor sanitation and hygiene results in a
large number of diseases and health consequences, Table 7
shows the approximate number of episodes and deaths
related to poor sanitation caused by the following diseases:
diarrhea, helminths, scabies, trachoma, hepatitis A, hepatitis
E and Diseases related to malnutrition. According to data
from the Ministry of Health (2019) shows that from 2017 to
2019, the number of diarrhea patients in Indonesia handled
was only around 60% of the total estimated cases of diar-
rhea that occurred. In 2019, only two provinces in Indonesia
with diarrhea patients dealt with by more than 80% were the
Capital city of Jakarta (104.6%) and West Nusa Tenggara
(92.9%). Besides, data from the Ministry of Health (2019)
show that from 2017 to 2019, the case of dengue fever in
Indonesia continues to increase. In 2019, there were around
51–52 cases of dengue fever per 100,000 population. Prov-
inces with dengue fever cases above 100 cases per 100,000
population include East Kalimantan (180.7), Bali (114.8),
and Gorontalo (101.5). Even though the fatality rate of den-
gue fever is less than 1 per case, the increase in the number
of cases is of great concern. Therefore, closing water reser-
voirs properly is one way to get rid of them.
According to estimates by the National Department of
Homeland Security, the country collected data on the inci-
dence of diarrhea among people under 5 years of age (2.5
cases per child per year), of which 89 million cases of diar-
rhea were related to poor sanitation and hygiene. In addi-
tion, according to the National Health Information System,
3 million malnourished children, 1 million worm infections,
and another 1 million malnutrition-related diseases are
Sustainable Water Resources Management (2022) 8:63 Page 11 of 15 63

Table 7  Estimated number Disease Morbidity (cases) Mortality (deaths)

of annual cases and deaths
attributed to poor sanitation, Direct diseases
2006
Diarrheal disease 89,417,461 22,880
Helminthes 1,054,048 56
Scabies 28,659,082 583
Trachoma 174,079 0
Hepatitis A 715,330 702
Hepatitis E 23,770 21
Sub-total 120,043,770 24,242
Indirect diseases related to malnutrition among children under 5 years
Malnutrition 3,073,220 –a
ALRI (acute lower respiratory infections) 1,066,935 8049
Malaria 87,818 1887
Measles 0 3528
Other –a 11,282
Protein-energy malnutrition –a 1144
Sub-total 4,227,973 25,890
Total 124,271,743 50,132
a
Not available

attributed to poor hygiene practices. However, these figures,
especially those from routine government sources, may be
severely underestimated, because most diseases are not seek-
ing health care from a public service provider in Indonesia.
Other studies have shown that the incidence is significantly
higher than reported (WSP-EAP 2008). For example, in East
Asia, the prevalence of helminths is 36% (roundworms),
28% (whipworms), and 26% (hookworms) (6), which can
cause more than one million cases. In a country where 28%
of children under five, or 5.4 million, are moderately or
severely underweight, these 3 million malnourished children
may also be seriously underestimated (Benson and Shekar
2006). The list of water-related infections is large and varied
(see Table 8), but most are only marginally affected by water
supply improvements.
Whereas the prevention of waterborne disease trans-
mission requires improvements in water quality, water-
washed transmission is interrupted by improvements in
the availability—and hence the quantity—of water used
for hygiene and the purposes to which it is put. Water sup-
ply may affect water-based transmission (for example, if it
reduces the need for people to enter schistosomiasis-infected
water bodies) or water-related insect vectors of disease (for
example, if a more reliable supply averts the need for the
water-storage vessels in which dengue vectors breed). How-
ever, that will depend on the precise life cycle of the parasite
involved and the vector's preferred breeding sites and behav-
ior (Cairncross and Valdmanis 2006).
Diarrheal disease
The most recent study estimated 842,000 deaths world-
wide from diarrheal disease for 2012. 43% of them were
children under 5. An estimated 502,000 deaths were
caused by inadequate drinking water, 280,000 by inad-
equate sanitation and 297,000 by inadequate hand hygiene

Table 8  The Bradley classification of water-related infections

Transmission route Description Disease group

Waterborne
Water-washed (or water-scarce)
because of a lack of water for
hygiene
Water-based
Water-related insect vector
The pathogen is in water that is ingested Feco-oral Diarrheas, dysenteries, typhoid fever
Person-to-person transmission Skin and eye infections Scabies, trachoma
Transmission via an aquatic intermedi- Water-based Schistosomiasis, guinea worm
ate host (for example, a snail)
Transmission by insects that breed in Water-related insect vector Dengue, malaria, trypanosomiasis
water or bite near water

Source: Cairncross and Feachem (1993)

13
63 Page 12 of 15
Table 9  Mortality from diarrheal diseases attributed to poor water
supply, sanitation, and hygiene in low- and middle-income countries,
regional distribution, and risk factors
Region Water supply Sanitation Hygiene WASH
Africa 229,316 126,294 122,955 367,605
The Americas 6441 2370 5026 11,519
Eastern Mediter- 50,409 24,441 28,699 81,064
ranean
Europe 1676 352 1972 3564
South-East Asia 207,773 123,279 131,519 363,904
Western Pacific 6448 3709 6690 14,160
World 502,061 280,443 296,860 841,818
(see Table 9). Regional breakdowns indicate that the larg-
est share of the global burden is in Southeast Asia and
sub-Saharan Africa. Accurate estimates remain elusive
due to poor quality data on the cause of death, insufficient
data on hygiene practices, and low-quality evidence on the
effectiveness of some water and sanitation interventions,
particularly on-site sanitation (Prüss-Ustün et al. 2014).
Primary prevention of diarrhea through water and sani-
tation interventions relies on reducing fecal transmission
of pathogens and includes providing an improved water
supply, water security planning, safe domestic water treat-
ment and storage, improved sanitation, and hygiene edu-
cation. Improved water supply refers to domestic water
connections, public taps, protected drainage pipes or dug
wells, springs, or rainwater harvesting. Improved sanita-
tion facilities may include flush/dump toilets in a con-
tained system, improved latrines (e.g., ventilated slabs),
or compost toilets. Water security planning considers the
management of water from the source to tap. Water treat-
ment can be done at the source or at home, and safe water
storage takes place in containers, preventing recontami-
nation of domestic water. Hygiene education can cover a
range of practices, including handwashing after using the
toilet and before food preparation (World Health Organi-
zation 2014).
The reduction in the incidence of diarrhea reached 5%
for source water supply, 19% for water quality interven-
tions (results after 12 months), 36% for sanitation inter-
ventions, and 47% for washing hands with soap (estimates
from pooled analyzes) (Cairncross and Valdmanis 2006;
Waddington et al. 2009). Large-scale and possibly long-
term interventions may have additional effects due to a
reduced flow of pathogens between families or communi-
ties and a prolonged change in behavior. Due to the multi-
ple and frequent opportunities for infection in unsanitary
environments, the effectiveness of some of these interven-
tions may appear limited but are often a prerequisite for
achieving the next level of sustainable disease reduction.
13
Sustainable Water Resources Management (2022) 8:63
Government's decisions
To solve the problem of access to clean water, the Indo-
nesian government has launched an ambitious plan to
increase the use rate of piped water from 17% in 2015 to
60% in 2019 and increase dependency on piped water from
54% in 2019 to 40% in the same period. The plan includes
developing a strategic plan to improve tap water supply
in urban and rural areas. Improve public water supplies'
financial, economic, and human performance; establish
more substantial citizen and business associations; pro-
vide innovative technologies to ensure citizens continue
to obtain drinking water sources (Pulse Lab Jakarta 2019).
The Community-based Drinking Water Supply and San-
itation (PAMSIMAS 2022) program has helped rural and
urban poor people in nearly 23,000 villages in Indonesia,
improving water supply for 17.2 million and improving
sanitation for 15.4 million people (The World Bank 2019).
The PAMSIMAS aims to expand and integrate commu-
nity-centric approaches to develop water and sanitation
use and improve sanitation behavior. Through capacity
development, planning, procurement, and management,
including community monitoring through a network and
mobile monitoring systems. It also provides counseling
and training services to counselors and the community to
improve their behavior and hygiene practices (Herlinda
et al. 2020).
From 2006 to 2018, PAMSIMAS included 22,961 vil-
lages in 376 districts in 33 provinces. The project has
helped an estimated 17.2 million people access improved
water supply facilities (above the target of 16 million peo-
ple set in 2018), and 15.4 million people have access to
water. The stool-free status among target communities has
increased significantly from 0 to 58%, and approximately
81% of schools have chosen schools that improve their san-
itation and sanitation programs. 68% of target groups have
introduced hand washing procedures. The institutional sus-
tainability of the PAMSIMAS approach is positive: 97%
of the districts replicated the project’s method outside the
target community, while 86% of the sections increased
spending to achieve universal access to water and sanita-
tion. PAMSIMAS has developed a system to supply water
to 2 million households in approximately 17,000 cities at a
rate of about 42,000 L per second. More than 1650 villages
in PAMSIMAS have accepted public facilities projects for
the disabled. Water user associations have been established
in 357 regions, which will help local governments achieve
universal access and sustainable development (PAMSI-
MAS 2022; The World Bank 2019).
On the other hand, to overcome the problems of clean
water, several strategies can be implemented (1) develop-
ment and law enforcement by the government, especially
Sustainable Water Resources Management (2022) 8:63
in enforcing laws, government regulations, regional regu-
lations, governor or regent decrees; (2) protection of water
sources includes protecting water catchment areas through
building restrictions, prohibiting logging and forest clear-
ing, controlling water sources by individuals or excessive
extraction, and protecting from pollution both domesti-
cally and by industry; (3) clean production can be started
from raw material selection, environmentally friendly
process selection, packaging, and product delivery (Her-
lambang 2006).
Future perspective and recommendation
Realizing the sustainable development goals for access
to safe drinking water requires increasing the number
of accesses to clean water in the community in quantity
and quality. The community-based and institution-based
approaches that have been carried out so far in providing
access to clean water need to be modified. The addition of
access in quantity and quality specifically must integrate
risk management from upstream to downstream, from water
sources to households. Availability of access to safe, clean
water will encourage an increase in health status in the long
term. The complexity of the clean water sector manage-
ment requires institutional arrangements that can accelerate
access to clean water in quantity and quality. It is necessary
to prepare an upstream to downstream related to the drink-
ing water sector.
The authority is a leading institution providing access to
drinking water, a concurrent government affair. Other stake-
holders involved follow directions from national authorities
that have the authority and capacity to regulate, supervise,
and control the performance of drinking water supply from
upstream to downstream. The authority from upstream to
downstream resolves various problems surrounding the
drinking water sector, reviewing the regulatory framework,
investment framework, and funding framework related to the
provision of clean water for drinking water.
In carrying out its duties, the authority pays attention to
the uniqueness of the drinking water supply system, where
water flowing from upstream to downstream can be cross-
district/city and even provincial. The regulatory framework
for drinking water is simplified. The bureaucracy of the
drinking water supply process prioritizes achieving the pri-
mary outcome: improving access to clean water for drinking
water, no longer a matter of ownership of regional drink-
ing water companies, ownership of water sources, or other
things that are input–output only.
Increasing access to safe drinking water can be started
by implementing optimal governance and risk management
through the drinking water safeguard plan. On a macro level,
the determination national drinking water leading institution,
Page 13 of 15 63
which has the authority from upstream to downstream in
the development of the drinking water sector, can become a
partner of the regional government to improve access to safe
drinking water seriously. The government needs to inventory
institutions that can act as the drinking water sector author-
ity that acts as leading institutions, becoming the regulatory
authority for the national drinking water supply system.
If institutional problems have begun to be resolved, it
is hoped that funding issues can be more easily pursued.
There are various sources of funding that can be sought out-
side of government sources, and the problem is that the lack
of solid institutions in the management of the clean water
sector has resulted in the optimization of non-government
sources that have not been appropriately implemented. Gov-
ernment cooperation with business entities, business enti-
ties with business entities, blended financing, and corporate
social responsibility require transparency and accountability
in their management. A leading institution with solid leader-
ship in sector management will make it easier for develop-
ment partners to cooperate in supporting the development
of the drinking water sector in the future.
Author contributions UA contributed to the literature search and
drafted the manuscript (corresponding author). SH contributed to
the literature search and data analysis. WEA contributed to critically
compiling and revising articles. PE contributed to provide ideas and
provide materials that are in accordance with the topic of the review
in this article.
Funding This research does not get funding from other parties.
Declarations
Conflict of interest The authors have no conflicts of interest associated
with the material presented in this paper.
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