Monday, 21 September 2026
JAMBI | INDATANEWS.COM - The regional water utility Perumda Air Minum Tirta Mayang of Jambi City is stepping up efforts to strengthen clean water services for residents amid the threat of a prolonged dry season. The situation has also put pressure on the availability of raw water as the water level and flow of the Batanghari River have declined.
Against this backdrop, the Perumda Air Minum Tirta Mayang team visited residents of Kebun Bohok in RT 21, Paal Merah Subdistrict, Jambi City, on Monday, September 21, 2026. The visit was part of the company's efforts to hear residents' needs directly while seeking solutions to the clean water access problems they have faced for decades.
The arrival of the Tirta Mayang team was welcomed positively by residents. They hope the meeting will mark the first step toward establishing a piped clean water network in their neighborhood, which has so far relied largely on wells to meet daily household needs.
Rina Anderani, Assistant to the Head of Business Region 1 at Perumda Air Minum Tirta Mayang, said the company continues to make public water services a priority despite the significant challenges posed by the prolonged dry season.
"Right now, during this prolonged dry season, the flow of the Batanghari River is declining, and this inevitably affects the water supply. However, we are ensuring that the supply continues to be provided as optimally as possible and remains our top priority. This is our commitment to providing more professional services in the future," Rina said in front of dozens of residents. She was accompanied by Kemas Rayhan, a staff member of Business Region 1.
Rina made the statement during a dialogue with residents at a house in RT 21. Dozens of women took part in the information session with keen interest and shared various problems they have experienced regarding access to clean water.
Residents welcomed the arrival of the Tirta Mayang team with high hopes. So far, people in Kebun Bohok have had only limited access to clean water through a piped network. Their dependence on wells becomes particularly problematic when a prolonged dry season causes groundwater supplies to become insufficient for household needs.
The situation forces residents to spend additional money purchasing water. The expense has increasingly burdened households because clean water is needed every day.
A Kebun Bohok resident, Siva, directly explained the situation on the ground to the Tirta Mayang team. She said residents had been waiting for decades to gain access to clean water through a piped distribution network.
Residents currently use well water for various household purposes. However, the prolonged dry season has caused water supplies in their wells to run dry. As a result, they have had to look for other ways to meet their basic water needs.
"For decades, we have not been able to access clean water from a water utility where we live. So far, we have depended on well water, but during a dry season like this, the wells run dry. We have to buy a Tedmon water tank for 70,000 rupiah, and that only lasts for two days," Siva said.
According to Siva, the cost of purchasing water has significantly increased household expenses. If residents have to buy water every two days, their monthly spending can reach several hundred thousand rupiah.
The financial burden is particularly noticeable among families who have to carefully manage their household budgets, especially toward the end of the month. Limited water availability also affects residents' daily activities, including bathing and other household chores.
"If we have to spend 70,000 rupiah on water every two days, how much does that come to in a month? With a PDAM supply, it would certainly be much cheaper because one cubic meter costs only around 4,000 rupiah. When we run out of money at the end of the month, we are forced to bathe in a hut or at relatives' homes because we no longer have money to buy water," she added.
The complaint also highlights the residents' strong need for access to a piped clean water supply. The community hopes that its request to have a distribution network installed, which has been submitted to Perumda Air Minum Tirta Mayang, will soon be processed further.
Kemas Rayhan, a staff member of Business Region 1 at Perumda Air Minum Tirta Mayang, said the decline in the Batanghari River's flow had also affected water distribution and the process of installing new pipelines.
According to Kemas, reduced raw water availability has caused disruptions to water distribution in general. Technical conditions have also meant that several applications for new connections requiring the installation of main pipelines have had to wait until the raw water supply returns to normal.
Kemas nevertheless assured residents that the application submitted by people in RT 21 Kebun Bohok was being taken into consideration. Perumda Air Minum Tirta Mayang will seek to accelerate the realization of the piped network in the area while taking into account the technical conditions at the site.
"For the residents of RT 21 who have submitted applications for connections, we will make every effort to realize them as quickly as possible," Kemas Rayhan said.
The meeting between residents and Perumda Air Minum Tirta Mayang provided an opportunity to align the community's needs with the technical conditions of the local water supply system. Residents need more affordable and sustainable access to clean water, while the utility must adjust network expansion to the availability of raw water and operational conditions.
For the people of Kebun Bohok, a piped clean water network is not merely a matter of convenience. Access to water is directly connected to families' basic needs and daily expenses, which continue to rise when residents have to purchase water.
Perumda Air Minum Tirta Mayang is also expected to maintain dialogue with residents throughout the application process. Coordination between the community and the utility can help ensure that the water needs of RT 21 Kebun Bohok receive a solution that corresponds with technical conditions and the company's capacity.
Efforts to expand access to clean water are also an important part of improving public services. Amid the pressure caused by the dry season and declining flow of the Batanghari River, the company continues to face the challenge of maintaining distribution while responding to the needs of residents who have yet to be connected to the piped water network. (IDNC)
REPORTER: Dalil Harahap | EDITOR: Fik Sagala
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