Construction of Clean Water Facilities in Oelet Village

The clean water crisis is one of the impacts of the prolonged drought caused by the climate crisis. In some places, residents have to buy clean water at quite expensive prices. In fact, to get water, residents walk for hours to water sources to fulfill their daily needs.

Anton Nesimnasi, a local community leader, explained how difficult it is to obtain clean water, especially during the summer. Sometimes they have to buy water. “We can buy water for Rp10,000 for five jerry cans, each of which contains 20 liters of water, meaning that five jerry cans get 100 liters of clean water.”

Each family usually spends Rp30,000 per week, so for one month we have to spend Rp120,000, and that’s only to fulfill our needs for food and drink, not for toilet needs and drinking water for livestock, explained Anton.

The availability of clean water that can be reached in a short time is important in the efforts of clean and healthy living behavior (PHBS) of the village community, especially children. In addition, the high stunting rate and slow prevention efforts are also caused by very limited access to clean water and a very long distance of more than 30 minutes.

Oelet Village in Amanuban Timur Sub-district is one of the villages assisted by Plan Indonesia that has difficulty accessing clean water. Based on a survey conducted in December 2023 by Plan Indonesia, access to water sources in the village is very far and difficult to reach because the road must go down a steep hill and far from the center of the population settlement. This condition encouraged Plan Indonesia to support the construction of clean water facilities, through funding from the Indonesian Capital Market, which includes the Financial Services Authority (OJK), the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), the Indonesian Securities Guarantee Clearing House (KPEI), and the Indonesian Central Securities Depository (KSEI).

The construction of clean water facilities includes 500 meters of transmission pipelines, 900 meters of distribution pipelines, 1 unit of water intake wells and water pumps, 1 unit of main reservoir, 1 unit of solar power plant (PLTS), 1 unit of box valve or valve box, and 3 public hydrants. In addition, local community leaders through the Drinking Water Supply System Management Agency (BP SPAM) will propose network expansion with funding from village funds to build two public hydrants.

The process of building clean water facilities

The construction process took place within three months, and in accordance with the timeframe agreed in the work contract, in cooperation with the implementation partner, Green Water Life. Work began in July and continued until October 2024.

The success of this project cannot be separated from the active participation of the Oelet Village community who volunteered to help with the work, which was divided into each neighborhood. In addition, the community also independently prepared local materials in the form of stones and logs. The division of labor involved all the people who would utilize the water, with monitoring by the Hamlet, RT, and Village Head so that the work could be completed on time and successfully inaugurated on December 2, 2024.

Mrs. Zernimawati, representing the women in Oelet Village, was relieved and very, very grateful for the construction of clean water facilities in her village.

“In the past we had to waste more than an hour to fetch water, we were also faced with the condition of the road through the forest and steep hills so this is very tiring, for that we also thank all donors and the Plan who have been kind to us. Now our collective exhaustion has paid off,” said Mrs. Zernimawati.

She also added that the children are rarely late for school and have more time to play.