Hong, P.C., Aweng E.R. and H. Hermansah, 2012.

Pollution Sources, Beneficial Uses and Management of Batang ISSN 0126-2807 Arau and Kuranji River in Padang, Indonesia. V ol um e 7 , N um b er 3 : 2 21 - 2 3 0 , S e pt em be r , 20 1 2 T 201 2 D epar t m ent of E n v i r onm ent al E ngi neer i ng Se p u l u h N o pe m b e r I n s t i t u t e o f T ec hn o l o g y , S ur ab a y a & Indonesian Society of Sanitary and Environmental Engineers, Jakarta Open Access http://www.trisanita.org/ja ses
International peer-reviewed journal

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Research Paper

POLLUTION SOURCES, BENEFICIAL USES AND MANAGEMENT OF BATANG ARAU AND KURANJI RIVER IN PADANG, INDONESIA
HONG, P.C.1, AWENG E.R.1* and H. HERMANSAH2
2Department

of Earth Science, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia. of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Indonesia.

1Faculty

*Corresponding Author: Phone: +060199830619; Fax: +06099467151; Email: aweng@umk.edu.my Received: 4th June 2012; Revised: 28th June 2012; Accepted: 28th June 2012

Abstract: Batang Arau River and Kuranji River in Padang, Indonesia serve as an important source of fresh water supply for the local communities to carry out their daily activities. Agricultural activities depend on the river as the main source for crop irrigation. However, due to the rapid the industrialization and urbanization that took place especially along Batang Arau River has caused intense pollution to the river. There is a need to study on the human activities and the management of the rivers in Padang. Therefore, a field survey was conducted to identify the type of river usage by the local communities, the sources of pollution and to understand the current management of Batang Arau River and Kuranji River by the local authorities. The result showed that apart from industrial waste, improper disposal practiced of domestic waste and sewage by the local communities were the main causes of the river pollution. Batang Arau River was intensely polluted by various sources of pollution and has lower river water quality compared to the Kuranji River. River monitoring and management had been carried out by the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Badan Pengendalian Dampak Lingkungan, BAPEDALDA) and Department of Water Resources Management (Dinas Pengelolaan Sumber Air, PSDA) of West Sumatera Province. Although enforcement of laws and regulations to protect the rivers had been practised by the local authorities, constant efforts in increasing the awareness of the local communities on the importance of river conservation are necessary to ensure the sustainability of the river ecosystem health and the ecological services provided by the river.
Keywords: Batang Arau River, Kuranji River, human activities, domestic wastes, river

221
Journal of Applied Sciences in Environmental Sanitation, 7 (3): 221-230.

pollution, river management

222
Journal of Applied Sciences in Environmental Sanitation, 7 (3): 221-230.

Hong, P.C., Aweng E.R. and H. Hermansah, 2012. Pollution Sources, Beneficial Uses and Management of Batang Arau and Kuranji River in Padang, Indonesia.

INTRODUCTION As with other major cities in Indonesia, the physical development of Padang is followed by a variety of environmental issues, both environmental degradation of natural physical, biological reduction and increased social problems. The accumulation of environmental problems caused by the disposal is in addition to various types of solid and liquid waste directly into the environment, also due to the limited capacity of facilities and environmental infrastructure services, particularly drainage infrastructure and environmental sanitation. Water pollution sources in the city of Padang were similar with other ASEAN countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines etc. Pollutions were dominated by industrial activities, household, markets and various other activities that produce waste [1][2]. In Malaysia particularly in Sungai Pinang, Pulau Pinang, most of the pollutants come from residential, commercial and industrial area [3]. Meanwhile, study which was conducted on the Pasig River Philippines showed that, industrial pollution accounts for 45% of the total pollution in the Pasig River [4]. Similarly, in Day/Nhue River Basin, Vietnam, where the major pollutant was from the craft villages and industrial enterprise [5]. The presence of the number of industries, factories in several sections of the river and the beach leads to pollution. Some rivers in this area have been used as liquid waste disposal sites of industrial activities without going through the necessary process. This situation was revealed from the examination conducted by the environmental policy makers with relevant technical agencies several times [6]. Therefore, a study on the human activities and the current management of Batang Arau River and Kuranji River in Padang was conducted to identify the current condition of the rivers based on the perception of the locals. In addition, there is a need to study these rivers and identify the sources of pollution, human activities along the rivers and to understand the current management of these rivers by the relevant local authorities. MATERIALS AND METHODS Field survey was conducted at three points located at the upstream, midstream and downstream of Batang Arau River and Kuranji River in Padang, West Sumatera. The location of Batang Arau River and Kuranji River in Padang is shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, respectively. Meanwhile, the sampling station for each river is shown in Table 1.

Fig. 1: Points of study at Batang Arau River (Source: Google Map, 2012). 223
Journal of Applied Sciences in Environmental Sanitation, 7 (3): 221-230.

Hong, P.C., Aweng E.R. and H. Hermansah, 2012. Pollution Sources, Beneficial Uses and Management of Batang Arau and Kuranji River in Padang, Indonesia.

Fig. 2: Points of study at Kuranji River (Source: Google Map, 2012.)

Table 1: Location for field survey.

River

Point Unstream (A1)

Location Sako, Indarung Koto Lalang Kampung Batu Batu Busuak Teratak Panas Jembatan Siteba

GPS Reading S 0057.690' E 10029.195' S 0057.651' E 10025.851' S 0057.920' E 10021.467' S 0054.686' E 10027.407' S 0055.313' E 10023.823' S 0053.752' E 10021.844'

Batang Arau

Midstream (A2) Downstream (A3) Upstream (B1)

Kuranji

Midstream (B2) Downstream (B3)

Batang Arau River originated from Mount Bolak and flows to the west, with a length of about 30.6 km. This river passes the districts of Lubuk Kilangan, Lubuk Bergalung and Padang Selatan. The length from the upstream to downstream of Batang Arau River is approximately 19 827 km with a circumference of approximately 69.15 km [1]. At the upstream of Batang Arau River, a small portion of land is used as agricultural area. While the residential population is relatively rare, this section of the river form sanctuary to several creeks, among them are Sikayan River, Timbulan River and Karang Putih River [7]. However, intense urbanization takes place from midstream to downstream of Batang Arau River. Kuranji River administratively located in four districts namely Pauh, Kuranji, Nanggalo and Padang Selatan. Kuranji River has a length of 17 km and is tipped in the sub-district of Lambung Bukit and Kapala Koto, Pauh district and form sanctuaries into Air Tawar Barat and Ulak Karang Utara, the district of Padang Utara [1]. Geographically, the increasing population 224
Journal of Applied Sciences in Environmental Sanitation, 7 (3): 221-230.

growth especially in this four Padang districts by the Kuranji River would affect the river water quality. According to [8], the annual population growth rate in the four districts is 2.305%. The methodology adopted for this study consists of two sections, data collection and data analysis. Data collection was based on questionnaires, observations and interviews. A field survey was conducted to identify the current usage of river and the problems faced by the local communities at the study areas. Besides, the field survey was carried out to understand the sanitary waste and domestic waste disposal practices by the locals that could affect the river water quality. During the survey, field observations were conducted where the human activities and physical condition of the river at different points were observed. Apart from that, formal interviews with relevant local authorities were conducted to identify their roles and responsibilities on the management, monitoring and conservation of the rivers. In data analysis, data collected from the field survey were presented in table and graphs prior analysis. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Along with population growth and industrial development, water issues is one of the natural resources that need attention, especially clean water from the river, because it is an important source of fresh water supply in Padang which can also be derived from the lake water, groundwater and reservoirs [9][10]. However, the lack of waste management effort and the increase in population density of urban population, causing the waste generated exceeds the assimilation of the river to be resilience. Human Activities and Rivers Agricultural activities depend on the river as the main source of crop irrigation. However, the misuse or excess use of chemical or organic fertilizers as well as pesticide and herbicide for agriculture can cause the deterioration of the water quality and thus causes pollution of the river. This incident happens when excess chemical fertilizers applied runoff to the stream during heavy rainfall [11]. Throughout the field survey for Batang Arau River and Kuranji River, it is learnt that agricultural activities occur mainly at the upstream and midstream for both Batang Arau River and Kuranji River. Almost half of the production of paddy in 2009 is from the sub-districts of Padang such as Padang Utara, Nanggalo, Kuranji and Paloh, which passed by and irrigated by the Kuranji River [1]. Chemical fertilizers used by the local farmers are nitrogen, phosphate and potassium fertilizers (NPK), urea and SP-36 [12]. Results from the field survey revealed that, some local communities at Batang Arau River and Kuranji River use water from the river for their daily life. Peoples use water mainly for cooking, washing, bathing, fishing, sanitization, recreation and as a disposal site (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3: Usage of river by the local community at upstream (Point A1), midstream (Point A2) and downstream (Point A3) of Batang Arau River.

Fig. 4: Community response on the condition of Batang Arau and Kuranji River. Based on Figure 3, recreation is the main usage of the rivers for local communities at both Batang Arau River and Kuranji River. Besides recreation, Kuranji River has the higer rate on river usage for the other six activities as campared to Batang Arau River. According to Ir. Mairizon, Head of the Environmental Monitoring and Management Division, this is mainly due to the moderately good water quality of Kuranji River as there were only a few small scale industries located along the river which has a potential to pollute the river. The amount of pollutants was believed to be too small which river would be able to self purified. Based on Figure 4, majority of the local communities from upstream (Point A1) and midstream (Point A2) of Batang Arau River responded that the river condition was slightly polluted. According to them this is due to the discharge from the cement quaries located upstream of the river. However, there were still respondents from upstream (Point A1) and midstream (Point A2) of Batang Arau River states that the river is clean as it is close to the water catchment area. Whereas, 43% respondents at downstream (Point A3) of Batang Arau River responded that the river was polluted and 47% said it was intensely polluted. This is mainly due to the intense amount of domestic waste found at downstream. Domestic wastes which was end up at downstream increases the sedimentation thus causes the shallowing of the river which hinder the ships to harbor. According to Ir. Siti Aisyah, Head of the Capicity Increament and Environmental Information Division, the increasing urbanization that took place along Batang Arau River causes severe pollution to the river and therefore Batang Arau River is one of the most polluted river in Padang which was used as polluted river baseline. On the other hand, more than half of the respondents at the upstream (Point B1) and midstream (Point B2) of Kuranji River stated that the condition of the Kuranji River is clean and unpolluted as they used the river water for their daily activities. However, almost half of the respondents at downstream (Point B3) mentioned that the river is severely polluted due to the lack of management of the domestic waste and sewage from the upstream and midstream areas. Waste Management and Rivers Septic tank is the only type of sanitary waste treatment available since there was no central wastewater treatment plant in the city of Padang. However, not every houses owned a septic

tank. It was learnt that most of the houses located upstream are rural areas where they do not have bathroom in their houses. Therfore, they had to build an enclosed chamber for bathing, washing and sanitizing purposes at the stream where the sanitary waste is directly flow into the river [13]. According to Ir. Mairizon, Head of the Environmental Monitoring and Management Division, the inefficient solid waste management system is one of the major issues in Padang City. Insufficient number of garbage trucks and central waste stations are due to the insufficient allocation of fund after the earthquake in 2009 which has severely impacted the whole nation. According to his past study on Batang Arau River, 70% of the sources of pollution came from domestic waste which was due to the lack of awareness on the importance of rivers in local communities.

Fig. 5: Solid waste disposal practiced by respondents at Batang Arau River and Kuranji River.

Fig. 6: Sources of river pollution from the perception of local communities at Batang Arau River and Kuranji River. Central waste bins for domestic waste only available at the center of Padang City. Therefore, waste bins are not available at upstream and some area of midstream area for both

Batang Arau Rivers and Kuranji River. Furthermore, waste trucks were not possible to access the area at upstream to collect the waste. Based on Figure 3.3, 100% of the local communities lived at the upstream of both rivers practiced open burning to dispose their household waste. The dumping site for open burning of household waste at Teratak Panas midstream (Point B2) of Kuranji River is located relatively close to the river bank. Only few places in the midstream of both rivers took the initiative to send their waste to the central waste bin provided by the authority. On the other hand, majority of the community at downstream practice disposing their solid waste into the central waste bins as they have better access to the central waste bins compared to those living in upstream and midstream. However, some of the respondents at downstream of both Batang Arau River and Kuranji River felt that open burning of solid waste is the best and effective option they have to get rid of the waste. Apart from that, only few respondents practiced burying of solid waste as their solid waste disposal method. According to Ir. Syafril Daus, Head of The River Water Management Division of West Sumatra, human activities at the upstream of both rivers contributed the most to the river contamination. He mentioned that, intense quarry activities for cement manufacturing industry located upstream (Point A1) of Batang Arau River and the mismanagement of university waste located upstream (Point B1) of Kuranji River also affected the water quality of the river. Moreover, rock mining activities took place at the upstream (Point B1) of Kuranji River and midstream (Point A2) of Batang Arau River causes erosion and siltation through runoff. This was eventually increased the turbidity and total suspended solid of the upstream water. Based on Figure 6, local communities claimed that industrial waste and domestic waste are the main sources of pollution to the Batang Arau River. According to the locals, domestic waste from upstream and midstream which was flow to downstream causes severe pollution to the Batang Arau River. However, some of the local cummunities at the upstream (Point A1) and midstream (Point A2) claimed that, the river is free from any pollution. Meanwhile, for Kuranji River, more than half of the respondent from upstream (Point B1) and midstream (Point B2) claimed that the river was free from any pollution. Whereas, the other half of the respondents suggested that the river was polluted by domestic waste. All respondents at downstream (Point B3) of Kuranji River agreed that poor management of domestic waste by authority and the lack of civic consciousness of the people is the main source of pollution in Kuranji River. River Management The management of river is important to ensure the ecosystem health of a river as well as maintaining the sustainability of the ecological services provided by the river to constantly improve the human well being and the environment. River management normally involved enforcement and monitoring. Therefore, constant monitoring of the river water quality with the aid of modeling [14] could be use for the conservation practices in order to avoid costly remedy of the watersheds in the future. Water quality of the rivers in Padang is monitored annually by the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Badan Pengendalian Dampak Lingkungan Daerah, BAPEDALDA) and Department of Water Resources Management (Dinas Pengelolaan Sumber Daya Air, PSDA) of West Sumatera Province. These authorities provide information or references to lead District Rulers to improve water quality of the rivers and provide guidelines to the industries to minimize their negative impact towards the river and the environment. BAPEDALDA, play a major role in the approval of Environmental Impact Assessment of a proposed project thus preventing any human activities that might cause potential negative impact to the environment. BAPEDALDA is the agency that enforces regulation to industries

whose effluent is above the standards set by the Ruler [15]. Apart from that, approval on wastewater treatment plant design of industries is also one of BAPEDALDA role in the management of the rivers in Padang. This agency conducts seminar with district rulers and stakeholders so that further actions can be taken on the management of the rivers. According to Ir. Siti Aisyah, Head of the Capicity Increament and Environmental Information Division from BAPEDALDA West Sumatra Province, increasing the awareness of local communities on the importance of river protection and conservation is necessary. Poor domestic waste and sanitary waste disposal practised by the local communities are one of the major factors of non-point source river pollution and the deterioration of river water quality in Padang. Various campaings and programmes were carried out to increase the civic conciousness of the people especially those living near Batang Arau River. Ir. Siti Aisyah mentioned that 3R (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) pilot projects to that encourage local involvement were carried out with the aim to reduce waste generated by household. Nevertheless, she added that the role of Department of Sanitation and Parks (Dinas Kebersihan dan Pertamanan) is equally important in the management of domestic waste. The outcome from the stakeholder meeting with Ir. Mairizon, Head of the Environmental Monitoring and Management Division from BAPEDALDA Kota Padang, the collaboration efforts with other agencies in the conservation of rivers in Padang have to put in place. As a results, BAPEDALDA had collaborated with the Education Department (Dinas Pendidikan) in organising Aditwiyata program to educate and increase the awareness of the younger generation on the importance and functions of rivers. Apart from that, BAPEDALDA had also collaborated with Department of Sanitation and Parks (Dinas Kebersihan dan Pertamanan) to educate the local communities to separate waste into organic and non-organic waste in order to reduce domestic waste being thrown into the rivers. Besides that, organic waste can convert into compost for agricultural activities, while non-organic wastes which have value can be recycled or dispose to appropriate location. Moreover, various companies practice corporate social responsibility, for example, a company had contributed by setting up central waste bins and providing waste trucks. These companies often provide aids in terms of workforce and material form instead of monetary. CONCLUSIONS Batang Arau River and Kuranji River serve as an important source of fresh water for the local communities to carry out their daily activities. Some of the local communities even consume the water from the river directly. However, due to the rapid industrialization and urbanization that took place especially along Batang Arau River caused intense pollution to the river. Apart from that, it was learnt that the inefficient management of the solid waste and sanitary waste as well as improper disposal practiced of household waste and sewage by the local communities contributed to the pollution of the river. Therefore, this would affect the water quality of the river and unsafe for the consumption for the local communities. Moreover, intense pollution of household waste in the river would cause the outbreak of waterborne diseases like diarrhea when the locals consume the contaminated water. Local authorities, Environmental Impact Management Agency (Badan Pengendalian Dampak Lingkungan, BAPEDALDA) and Department of Water Resources Management (Dinas Pengelolaan Sumber Air, PDAM) of West Sumatera Province are responsible in managing and conserving the rivers in Padang. Furthermore, they are involved in the monitoring of the quality

of the river water as well as enforcing the laws and regulations set by the Ruler. Various activities were carried out to increase the awareness and civic consciousness of the local community on the importance of river conservation. Narrowing of focus on the issues faced is important to mitigate on the human impact to both Batang Arau River and Kuranji River. First, authorities should identify the most important water quality problems caused by nonpoint sources which are mainly due to the improper sanitary and solid waste disposal practises due to rapid urbanisation. Second, to optimized the use of limited fund. District Ruler must also concentrate on a limited volume of water bodies which still have a potential for improvement if nonpoint sources are controlled and where other sources will not preclude such improvement. Third, District Ruler should identify the major types of nonpoint sources or land use activities within watersheds that contribute to nonpoint pollutants which affected water bodies. Finally, District Ruler should determine exactly what types of best management practices (BMPs) which are needed and where they should be located within watersheds in order to conserve the water bodies and ensure the sustainability of the health of river ecosystem as well as the ecological services provided by the river.
Acknowledgement: The authors wish to thanks Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia for the funding and not to forget, the Universitas Andalas, Indonesia for providing a place and study area. References 1. Padang in Figures (2009). Padang: Balai Pusat Statistik Kota Padang. 2. Gayatri, G.A. (2011, June 08). Industri Cemari Sungai Dari 5 Sungai, Batang Arau Terparah. Padang Ekspres. 3. Farah Naemah, M.S., Nik Norulaini, N.A.R., Mohd Omar, A.K, and Fatehah, M.O. (2006). Identification of Pollution Sources within the Sungai Pinang River Basin. E prints. Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. 4. Cruz, R.T. (1997). Case Study III-The Pasig River, Philippines: Water Pollution Control- A Guide to the Use of Water Quality Management Principles. United Nation Environment Programme, the Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council and the World Health Organization. WHO/UNEP. 5. Reid, N.J., Nham, D.T., Lam, T.Q., Cole, B., Anh, L.T.H., Spickett, J., Bertolatti, D., Dunn, B., Ha, N.T., Dung, N.T.K. and Hiap, H.S. (2007). Day/Nhue River Basin Pollution Sources Study. Final Report. International Centre for Environmental Management 6. Jhon, N. (2003). Tingkat Pencemaran Kawasan Muara Sungai di Kota Padang Sumatera Barat. M. Sc.Thesis. University of Andalas, Indonesia. 7. Penelitian Kualitas Perairan Sungai Batang Arau (2006). Padang: Pusat Penelitian Kependudukan dan Lingkungan Hidup Universitas Negeri Padang. 8. Kajian Kualitas dan Penetapan Daya Tampung Beban Pencemaran Sungai Batang Kuranji, Kota Padang (2008). Padang: PT. Benteng Cakrawala. 9. Clean Water Supply Statistics (2009). Padang: Statistics of West Sumatra Province. 10. H. Indang Dewata, Rusnam and Yosi Zusana (2011). Ironi Air di Negeri Kaya Air. National Seminar. Universitas Andalas, Indonesia. 9 June. 2011. 11. Thomas, V.C. (2005). Priciples of water resources, History, Development, Management and Policy. 2nd Edition. NJ: John Wiley and Sons. p56-152 12. Buku Data Status Lingkungan Hidup Daerah Provinsi Sumatera Barat Tahun (2009). Padang: Bapedalda Provinsi Sumatera Barat

13. Sanitasi Buruk Masyarakat Terpuruk. (2009, August 26). Retrieve August 26, 2009, from http://www.sanitasi.or.id/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=90:sanitasiburuk-masyarakat-terpuruk&catid=55:berita&Itemid=125 14. Zhen, G.L. (2008). Hydrodynamics and Water Quality. Modeling Rivers, Lakes and Estuaries. NJ: John Wiley and Sons. p247-366, p473-489 15. Peraturan Pemerintah Republik Indonesia ( 2001). Pengelolaan Kualitas Air dan Pengendalian Pencemaran Air. No. 82.