The Jakarta Environment Office will inventory sources of pollution arising from residential areas, offices, industries, and other activities along Kalibaru River, head of the office, Asep Kuswanto, has informed.
The action follows the collection of a sample by the office from Kalibaru Timur River, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, in response to the mass death of suckermouth catfish (Hypostomus plecostomus) in the river on July 11, 2022. The analysis of the sample showed changes in water quality parameters.
“The mass death of fish only happened on a local scale in one of the Kalibaru Timur River sections. There is a possibility of an unusual event, such as very large-scale waste disposal with a very large discharge or a very high concentration,” Kuswanto explained.
The waste spread into the river section and caused drastic changes in water quality, thus triggering the mass death of fish living in the area, he added.
The finding was based on a study conducted by the Environment Office in collaboration with the Center for Environmental Research, Bogor Agricultural University (PPLH of IPB University), to investigate the cause of death of the suckermouth catfish in the river, Kuswanto said.
If the cause or waste disposal is indicated to be on a larger scale than household activities, the location can be a priority for establishing a communal wastewater treatment plant, or ekoriparian, in collaboration with the Water Resources Office (SDA) and the City Parks and Forests Office (DPHK), he added.
His office also appealed to people living around the riverbank to be careful while disposing of waste.
“We also appeal to the people around the riverbank to be wise in managing domestic waste,” he added.
Source: Antara News