Mahakam River Potency as Raw Water to Support Drinking Water Services and Sanitation in the New Territories of the State Capital, East Kalimantan

Abstract

The Indonesia Government’s decision to move the country’s capital city from DKI Jakarta on the Java island to Penajam – Paser Utara in East Kalimantan provides new hope and challenges that must be faced. The pressure on the environment due to anthropogenic activities, industry, transportation, business, trade, tourism, etc., causes the Jakarta area not to have a good ecosystem and environmental carrying capacity. Some basic needs that have not been fully addressed so far are drinking water, sanitation, and health services for the community and need serious attention in the development planning of the new national capital. The limitations of raw water in terms of quality, quantity, and continuity are often the main obstacles to ensuring the fulfillment of drinking water and sanitation according to appropriate needs. East Kalimantan region has many surface water resources consisting of rivers, lakes, swamps, and springs. The Mahakam River is one of the major rivers in this region, which has a potential source of raw water to be processed into clean water and drinking water. This study aims to examine the potency of Mahakam river water as raw water to support drinking water and sanitation services availability. The results showed that the water of the Makaham river in the city of Samarinda experienced daily ups and downs with a difference in water level of 2 m. Meanwhile, the turbidity level of river water varies between 185 to 229 NTU. Mahakam river water is categorized as C - D quality, with sufficient quantity and continuity. A complete treatment system is needed to improve its quality to clean water or drinking water in accordance with the standards.