Hold Your Water

Environmental Group Wants Bali Government to Strictly Control Use of Water by Tourism and other Industries in Bali

(8/24/2012) 

The Bali chapter of Friends of the Earth (WALHI) is urging the provincial government of Bali to regulate the use of water by industries in Bali.

As reported by the National News Agency Antara, the chairman of WALHI-Bali, Wayan Suardana, said on Thursday, August 23, 2012, “Regulations limiting the use of water for hotels, villas, home stays and a number of other industries are badly needed because the use of water, particularly ground water, remains very high.”

He revealed that investigations carried out by WALHI in the Kerobokan and Umalas areas of Badung regency estimates there are more than 1,000 villas equipped with swimming pools. In other words, in one sub-district alone there are 1,000 swimming pools - all using ground water.

In WALHI’s opinion, the presence of 1,000 villas with swimming pools is definite proof of a consumptive and exploitive level of water consumption that contributes to a deficit use of underground water reservoirs.

“Water usages in Bali in terms of sheer volume is at crisis levels. This does not take into account the quality of that water, which is also on the decline,” Suardana explained.

Data released by the Bali Environmental Agency (BLH) indicate that there are some 200 rivers in Bali in which the water levels have dropped or dried up completely.

Source: BaliDiscovery.com