Water Shortage Essay

I. INTRODUCTION

Water is a basic need and essential for human needs. The clean water availability is a major concern in many developing countries including Indonesia (Song et al, 2009). Appan (1997), in a study stated that demand for clean water is needed in developing countries,. Sustainable water resources management should pay attention to the principle that the use of the water resources in accordance with the required quantity (Kim et al, 2007). The rapid population growth led to the increasing in water demand. Conversely, land use change and other environmental problems caused diminishing water resources availability. water shortages triggered by the increase in demand due to increasing population, the uneven distribution of water, increased water pollution and inefficient use of water (Chiras, 2009). As presented by Jacques Diouf, Director-General of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the current use of water in the world has doubled more than a century ago, but its availability is decreasing. As a result, there

RESULTS and ANALYSIS

4.1. Rainfall Data and Rainwater Quality

The daily rainfall data at 4 rain stations in Jakarta, 5 stations in Bandung, 2 rain stations in Palembang, and 3 rain stations in Semarang were used. The length of the data for each city vary from 4-18 years depending on the data availability. From the rainfall data analysis, it can be seen that Palembang has the bigger average annual rainfall compared to 3 other cities followed by Semarang, Bandung and Jakarta. Figure 1. Average annual rainfall

The rainwater qualities were analyzed to determine to which level the rainwater could be used. Rainwater quality test were only done for Bandung. Rainwater quality data for Palembang, Semarang and Jakarta, are obtained from secondary data (BAPPEDA and BMKG). On average, the rainwater quality has a pH below the drinking and clean water standards. Based on the analysis, all rainwater only appropriate to be used for non-potable water