Summary

Residents in Pontianak report salty and brackish tap water due to prolonged dry weather and seawater intrusion in the Kapuas River.
City Council Speaker Satarudin urges the water company to maintain services and prepare alternative supplies as salinity rises.
The Pontianak city administration warns of low rainfall and an extended dry season, impacting water quality.
An emergency freshwater source, the Penepat intake, provides backup but only supplies around 500 liters per second, far less than needed.
Residents should monitor official notices for water quality updates and use verified drinking sources if water tastes unusual.

PONTIANAK, thekabarnews.com—Residents of Pontianak, West Kalimantan, have reported salty and brackish-tasting tap water. Prolonged dry weather reduces the flow of the Kapuas River and allows seawater to move farther upstream.

Pontianak City Council Speaker Satarudin urged municipal water company Perumda Tirta Khatulistiwa to maintain services. Satarudin recommended preparing alternative supplies if salinity continues to rise.

“This is the dry season, and there has been no rain, so the water has become slightly brackish. This is situational. What is clear is that we are asking the water company to continue providing the best possible service to the people of Pontianak,” Satarudin said on Sunday, August 9, as quoted by Tribun Pontianak.

He said the problem also affected people who had not submitted complaints. His household had experienced the same change in water quality.

“Yes, the water at our house is also brackish. Some residents will certainly collect rainwater or use bottled water,” he said.

Pontianak relies heavily on the Kapuas River for its raw water. When an extended period without rain lowers the river’s discharge, tidal seawater can travel upstream. This phenomenon raises the water’s salt concentration.

In July, the Pontianak city administration warned that more than three weeks of dry weather could trigger seawater intrusion into the river. The city identified the Kapuas as the principal raw-water source for Perumda Tirta Khatulistiwa.

“Because our water supply is close to the sea, and we now also have haze while the rain has not arrived, we all hope it rains soon so the water will no longer be brackish,” Satarudin said.

The conditions align with the national weather agency’s outlook. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) forecasts that much of Kalimantan would reach the peak of the 2026 dry season in August.

BMKG also placed Pontianak among West Kalimantan areas expected to record low monthly rainfall of between zero and 100 millimeters in August. Additionally, BMKG said the 2026 dry season could be drier and longer than normal.

Pontianak has prepared the Penepat intake as an emergency freshwater source. Water from Penepat can be blended with Kapuas River water to lower salinity before treatment and distribution.

The backup system can supply only around 500 liters per second. It requires five pumps to move water approximately 21 kilometers to the Imam Bonjol treatment plant.

Tirta Khatulistiwa normally produces about 1,250 liters per second. It serves an estimated 90.6 percent of Pontianak’s population, according to the city administration.

As of August 10, neither the city administration nor Tirta Khatulistiwa had published current laboratory measurements showing the water’s salinity. They also had not confirmed whether it met drinking-water standards.

Residents should therefore monitor official utility notices. They should use a verified drinking-water source when the distributed water develops an unusual taste.

The council’s intervention adds pressure on the utility to publish regular water-quality readings. It also encourages the utility to explain when the Penepat intake will operate and to communicate service changes clearly throughout the dry season.