Abstract
Because of the burgeoning urban population, there is huge pressure on both natural resources and basic urban infrastructure, especially sewerage systems, with Indonesia as no exception. It is estimated that about 95% of human waste in Indonesia ends up untreated or partially treated in septic tanks before being discharged in the natural environment, contaminating the living environment as well as adversely affecting human health and economic development. This study conducted a comprehensive investigation on septage management in Bandung City, Indonesia, to gain a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities for improved performance of on-site sanitation systems as well as septage management across its sanitation service chain. The results showed that the following issues are the main reasons behind poor sanitation in Bandung city: a) poor design and construction of septic tanks with no or only partial lining, resulting in leaking (>90% of septic tanks are malfunctioning); b) irregular desludging, i.e. about 2/3 of population desludge their septic tanks only once in more than 5 years; c) lack of proper guidelines and awareness about the benefits of regular monitoring and operation of septic tanks; d) lack of good sanitation service providers; and e) lack of funds for building sufficient capacity of septage treatment plants.
Highlights
Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world and has the largest economy in Southeast Asia
The above fact is well supported by the report, which mentions that domestic wastewater is considered the biggest pollution contributor for the Citarum river, a receiving body of Cikapundung river, which runs through Bandung city [10,11,12,13]
Despite lots of efforts having been made to improve wastewater treatment by the government of Indonesia, issues related to septage management have not received appropriate attention from either the central government or local governments
Summary
Septage management in Indonesia faces major challenges at the regulatory and practical level due to lack of attention from local/central government, weak enforcement of regulations and practical standards, and poor understanding of proper septic tank design. This leads to improper treatment, lack of demand for septage treatment plants and illegal septage sludge discharge into the open environment. It is reported that 245,000 household, or approximately 40.13% of inhabitants, still discharge their wastewater directly into the environment without any treatment process [9] This is one of the prime factors causing both groundwater and surface water pollution. The above fact is well supported by the report, which mentions that domestic wastewater is considered the biggest pollution contributor for the Citarum river, a receiving body of Cikapundung river, which runs through Bandung city [10,11,12,13]
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