PONTIANAK, thekabarnews.com—Tanjungpura University (UNTAN) is preparing a multistage reverse-osmosis system to help Pontianak’s water utility supply water for hospitals. This step is in response to seawater intrusion that is raising the salt content of the city’s raw-water sources.

Pontianak’s owned tap water company (PDAM) Tirta Khatulistiwa said the reading it described as the raw water’s “salt level” had reached approximately 5,000 milligrams per liter.

Declining freshwater flows during the prolonged dry season have allowed seawater to travel farther into the Kapuas River. This river is one of the utility’s principal sources.

PDAM Tirta Khatulistiwa has not announced a suspension of hospital dialysis services. It said the increasingly saline water could not meet the special requirements for certain medical uses without additional treatment.

“Pontianak’s freshwater reserves are now very limited because the raw water currently being processed has a high salt content and does not meet the requirements for hemodialysis,” Service Director Muhammad Zulhiyardi said in an official UNTAN statement.

Zulhiyardi described the collaboration as an urgent response to an exceptional supply problem.

UNTAN’s Marine Engineering Department developed the desalination system to process water from rivers, rainfall, municipal networks and saline sources.

The design uses several membrane stages that engineers can adjust to the characteristics of the incoming water.

The system also monitors flow and several water-quality indicators, including salinity and conductivity.

UNTAN said its technical team would accompany the unit during mobilization and operation.

“UNTAN is ready to serve as a problem solver for the community. The design of our reverse-osmosis equipment is ready and only needs to be mobilized to Perumda,” Vice Rector IV Professor Rustamaji said.

The university assigned a technical team led by Marine Engineering Department head Mochammad Meddy Danial to oversee the planned deployment.

UNTAN’s academic records indicate that its researchers have previously developed integrated desalination systems using pretreatment and ultrafiltration. They used separate membranes for brackish water and seawater.

The official statement did not specify the unit’s daily production capacity or confirm when it would begin supplying treated water. It also did not provide the results of laboratory testing on its output.

Reverse osmosis can remove dissolved salts. However, hospitals cannot rely on salinity alone when determining whether water is safe for hemodialysis.

The Health Ministry standards require dialysis water to meet limits for chemical contaminants, microorganisms and endotoxins. Hospitals must test the treated water regularly, including after changes to an RO system.

The UNTAN statement did not identify whether the 5,000 mg/L measurement represented chloride, total dissolved salts, or another parameter.

Treat the figure as the salinity reading cited by local officials, and do not compare it directly with the limit for any single chemical in dialysis water.

Pontianak Mayor Edi Rusdi Kamtono previously said the salt reading in the Kapuas River had exceeded 5,000 mg/L.

He cited maximum levels of 600 mg/L for sanitation and 300 mg/L for drinking water. The city’s statement did not specify the laboratory parameter behind those figures.

The Pontianak administration is also repairing infrastructure that carries freshwater from Penepat Reservoir. The system currently supplies about 500 liters per second, compared with its planned capacity of 1,000 liters per second.

UNTAN’s RO unit could provide short-term support during the salinity emergency. Before hospitals use its output for dialysis, however, accredited testing must confirm that the treated water meets every applicable medical standard.