In a bid to reduce land subsidences, the city administration will soon raise the groundwater tax and require domestic consumers to pay for a minimum of 10 cubic meters of piped water per month, even if they use less than that.

Governor Fauzi Bowo said Wednesday he would raise the groundwater tax in areas with the worst land subsidences, such as North Jakarta. The new groundwater rates would be close to piped water rates.

"We will need a bylaw on this. I will discuss the issue with the mining agency," Fauzi said.

The administration had earlier announced its plan to raise the ground water tax due to massive land subsidences in the city.

The new prices range between Rp 8,800 (97 US cents) and Rp 23,300 per cubic meter.

The rates depend on consumer categories, which include non-business; small business; large business, including hotels and offices; small industry; and large industry.

"Most household customers use ground water and use piped water as their second choice for supply. As a result, land subsidences in Jakarta are worsening," said Fauzi.

North Jakarta has subsided by 1.5 meters in the last two decades, experts say.

Fauzi said he hoped the move would encourage domestic consumers to rely on tap water. The administration aims to conserve 3.1 million cubic meters of ground water to prevent further land subsidences.

Both water operators in Jakarta, PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) and PT Aetra Air Jakarta, have recorded a high number of registered customers with zero consumption levels.

Palyja records 78,000 zero consumption customers of their 160,000 customers that spend less than 10 cubic meters per month. Aetra sees 60,000 zero consumption customers of its 155,000 customers that spend less than 10 cubic meters per month.

Singapore's environment and water minister, Yaacob Ibrahim, said setting a tax on water was proving difficult.

"If we set the price too high, they won't use it. But if the price is too low, the consumers will use it carelessly. We have to discuss it with related stakeholders first," he said.

Earlier, director of Amrta Institute for water literacy Nila Ardhianie said Monday there was little chance groundwater consumers would turn to using the city's tap water, which she said was unreliable.

She said the rate increases might instead trigger groundwater theft among the business entities and households.

She cited a 2005 study conducted by Amrta and the Tifa Foundation in Sleman, Central Java, that showed only 8 percent of 337 hotels in the area were registered as having groundwater wells.

"The tendency to steal groundwater in Jakarta may be worse than in Sleman," said Nila. (The Jakarta Post)

The hub in Kamal Muara covers West Jakarta and North Jakarta. The hub in Tanjung Priok covers only North Jakarta, Taman Langsat covers only South Jakarta and Pondok Rangon covers East Jakarta and South Jakarta. (The Jakarta Post)