Dadan Ramdan Hardja – Director of Walhi


West Java, with an area of 3,7 million hectares, has seven strategic main water dams. One of them is the Cirata Dam. It contributes greatly to the ecosystem and the lives of citizens in West Java. But the Cirata Dam is worse than the other seven dams. The textile industry, drilling, and development of land has caused the water to become polluted. All of this then flows down to the Citarum river. The river is a national strategic asset and it has historical importance for the people of West java. There are around 2,300 factories in the area from Bandung to Muara Gembong in Bekasi and according to data collected from samples at the Cirata Dam all of those factories produce liquid, gasses and solid waste. All this waste flows down streams and ends in the Citarum river. According to our data, most factories don’t have their own wastewater treatment plant.


Muhammad Agus - village officials



My name is Muhammad Agus and I have lived in the village of Lagadar in the Sukamanah district since 1984. As a local, I have seen horrible changes along the Citarum river. The pollution in the Citarum river has become worse since the early 90s. It’s because of the waste coming from the textile factories in the Cimahi region. According to research, the Citarum river is contaminated with chemicals that impact creatures living in the river. They have all died after they became contaminated. The wastewater is contaminated with dangerous chemicals and it can be seen in the colour of the river. The river has several colours, including brown, black, and dark red. Most of it is contaminated due to coal dust. During the dry season, you can smell the coal dust coming from the water’s surface. The contamination of the water has caused various diseases. Some of the diseases include diarrhea and vomiting, as well as skin diseases. The health of the people living near the Citarum river has been severely impacted.



Dadan Ramdan Hardja – Director Walhi



There are several ways they dispose of the wastewater. Factories dispose of the wastewater during the rainy season, when the river levels are high, making it difficult to identify the wastewater, compared to during the dry season. Some factories dispose of the wastewater and throw it into the river from midnight to dawn when environmental officers are not supervising. Others dispose of it every day from morning to late at night. It follows factory production 24 hours a day. So, wastewater will be disposed of at every hour of the day into the river.



Irwansyah – Salesman



Factories around my neighborhood dispose of wastewater at 3 pm or 4 pm and it smells really bad in our house. Contaminated water gave my daughter asthma and an itchy skin condition on her body after playing near the river. I have taken my daughter to clinics, and the doctors said her itchy skin was caused by the contaminated water. I assume the contaminated water is from our wells or from the river.



Dadan Ramdan Hardja – Director Walhi


If we look at the facts on the ground, residents consume water from different sources. Many residents use water from shallow wells, but the shallow well water in industrial areas is very contaminated with dangerous substances. Taking water from these wells leaves residents susceptible to contamination by pollutants within the wastewater, which then returns to the Citarum river after use.