Your septic tank: Could it be a ticking time bomb for disease?

The Jakarta Post

Checking where your dinner ends up is definitely a dirty job. But experts have a name for septic tanks which have had their maintenance neglected: a time bomb.

Association of Indonesian Sanitation Technology Experts chairman Sofyan Iskandar said household water consumption contributes strongly to the quality of raw water.

Seeping liquid waste from poorly maintained or built septic tanks severely pollutes underground water, he said.

"Many housing developers ignore regulations on septic tanks since they know that homeowners won't check them thoroughly. Even if they build a septic tank, it won't have a cement floor. House owners should be worried if after two years they don't have to empty the septic tank," he said.

Sofyan, also a member of the government-sanctioned body Water Supply and Sanitation Policy Formulation and Action Planning (Waspola), warned improperly installed septic tanks can cause waterborne diseases, such as diarrhea or, worse, cholera.

"About 90 percent of groundwater in Jakarta is not good for consumption and almost half of the population suffers from diarrhea once in a while. The disease inflicts a high infant mortality rate. It's not without reason we call the condition septic tanks are in a time bomb," he said, quoting studies by Waspola, in cooperation of the National Development Planning Board, AusAid and the World Bank.

Worse still, a lack of incentives to bring septic waste to city processing installations has meant many of those cleaning septic tanks have simply dumped the waste into rivers.

"There should be monitoring of septic tank maintenance by the Public Works Agency, the Environment Management Body and the Industry and Trade Agency that issues licenses to (septic tank) businesses," Sofyan said.

Guy Hutton from the World Bank's Water Sanitation Program calculated that Jakarta residents each spend on average US$12 per month on treating diarrhea.

According to Sofyan, that figure far outstrips the cost of building a septic tank, which comes to around $260 for a standard tank or up to $360 per household for a community tank that could accommodate 200 people.

The community septic tank, he added, was the best temporary solution for managing black water, in light of the fact that the Jakarta administration could not afford a proper sewerage system.

"Besides budget constraints, it's not easy to make residents move their toilets from the back of the house to the front door. Indeed, it's households that are the face of this city."

-- Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak