Badung Regency, located on the island of Bali in Indonesia, has a tropical climate and is warm and humid year-round. Badung experiences two distinct main seasons: dry season (April to October) and rainy season (November to March). Despite being historically known for its agricultural industry, the island of Bali has become one of the top tourist destinations in the world, with millions of visitors flocking to its many beaches each year.

Despite its global popularity as a tourist destination, Badung faces a complex web of water resource challenges, with few viable solutions in sight. An economy which is over-reliant on the tourism industry has created an outsized strain on water resources, with withdrawals fast outpacing aquifer recharge. Sea levels are rising, which contributes to the salinization of already-threatened aquifers. Drinking water and wastewater infrastructure are crumbling throughout Badung and Bali, which leads to the loss of nearly half of all potable water through leaking pipes. The cost of buying clean, tested water is unattainable for many Badung residents, forcing them to rely on untested and often dangerous water sources. These issues all combine to create an ongoing water availability crisis which is being exacerbated by climate change and will likely come to a head within the next ten years.

Aging and Insufficient Infrastructure

While there are two drinking water treatment plants near Badung, 43.61% of the drinking water produced is lost during piped water distribution before reaching customers in Badung. Leakage due to old pipeline infrastructure and undetected illegal connections are likely the main reasons for water loss (PDAM, 2020). Generally, piped water cannot be consumed in Badung unless boiled or filtered. This low quality is caused by poor water infrastructure as well as tropical heat which can cause pathogens to proliferate (Tapsafe, 2021). Piped water in Badung is usually only used for bathing, washing, and lavatory purposes. Residents generally purchase bottled drinking water from the private sector. 

Currently, Bali only has one regional-scale centralized domestic wastewater treatment plant, namely Suwung Wastewater Plant (WWT). Unfortunately, this installation only serves tourist areas (Septaprasetyo et al., 2019). Kuta is the only area in Badung Regency covered by this sewage system.

Suwung WWT only serves 13,000 residents in the Kuta sub-district; just over 2% of the total Badung population of 615,146. Kuta is the most densely populated area and the main tourist area in Badung Regency. This sewer system is also integrated with hotels and restaurants in the Kuta area. However, based on a JICA report (2019) many small hotels and restaurants are unwilling to integrate with this system due to the high monthly wastewater treatment fee. Some hotels have their own wastewater treatment system. However, houses outside the Kuta area generally either have septic tanks, which often leak, or dispose of raw waste into open sewers or the sea. According to Rarasari (2018), even the waste which is managed by Sawung WWT is not currently meeting environmental contamination regulations and is therefore negatively affecting coastal water quality.

Impacts of Tourism Industry

According to the Bali Water Project, the water table across Bali has dropped by 50 meters in the last ten years in parts of Bali. According to Yastika et al. (2020), image data from October 2014 to June 2019 detected subsidence in the sub-district of Kuta, Badung. The exact cause of this subsidence is not known, but groundwater extraction is one possible cause of this problem (KLHS, 2010).

In Bali, 80% of the economy depends on tourism, while visiting tourists consume over 65% of potable groundwater supplies annually (Cole, 2012). These withdrawals are having an immensely negative impact on Bali’s water supply: as of 2007, “260 of Bali’s 400 rivers have run dry and Bali’s biggest natural reserve of water, Lake Buyan, has dropped 3.5 meters in three years” (Cole, 2012).

The impacts of this water shortage are particularly pronounced in the agricultural industry, which often must compete against the tourism industry to receive enough water to grow sufficient crops to support the local population. For example, “more than half the water from a new reservoir built in Tabanan to support the wet rice farming is diverted to South Bandung for tourism” (Cole, 2012). This conflict between tourism, which is the main economic driver for the region, and agriculture, which is absolutely necessary to sustain local residents, presents a clear threat to the health, safety, and sovereignty of Badung’s citizenry.

The Looming Threat of Sea Level Rise

Sea level rise mapping from Climate Central (2021) shows that, by 2030, much of southern Badung will be permanently inundated. The projected inundation area encompasses the current wastewater treatment plant as well as one of only two drinking water treatment plants in the region. The inundation of these critical water infrastructure sites poses a clear and immediate threat to the residents of Badung. Swift action must be taken to construct new drinking water and wastewater facilities away from the sea level rise inundation zone. 

Additionally, research from Bali State Polytechnic Institute (2018) indicates that 14 water points out of a total of 60 sample points surveyed in Badung have high chlorine levels, which suggests that saline intrusion has occurred in the area. Areas experiencing saltwater intrusion in Badung Regency include Legian, Kuta, Seminyak, Nusa Dua, Jimbaran and Tanjung Benoa. This salinization of coastal drinking water resources will only worsen as climate change accelerates.

Unaffordable and Unsafe Drinking Water

From 2004 to 2007, the cost of bottled water, which had already been prohibitively expensive for most low-income families, rose by 25% in Bali. As a response to this unaffordability, unlicensed “water resellers” began to charge one-third of the cost of bottled water for consumers to refill their water bottles from untested water tanks. In Badung, the cost of a household connection to piped water exceeded $185 in 2012; a price far too high for most low-income households and agricultural households to afford (Cole, 2012). In addition to piped water being unaffordable for many Badung residents, there is a lengthy waiting list for the installation of piped water connections, meaning that even those residents who can afford to connect to piped water must wait for up to several years before gaining access to public water (Cole, 2012).

Making matters worse, in 2009 the Bali government announced a 1,000% price increase on piped water. Local hotels and tourism centers protested the rate increase, prompting the government to reduce the price hike to 500%; a price which over 90% of hotels simply refused to pay while continuing to withdraw water despite the government’s objections (Cole, 2012).

The aforementioned “water resellers” operate illegally and usually do not test their water for contaminants. Low-income residents are often forced to rely on this dubious water source due to its relative affordability when compared with piped or bottled water. Because of this, a 2012 study found that many villagers throughout Badung Regency experienced increased incidences of diarrhea when compared with the national average (13% and 9%, respectively) due to their reliance on “refill water”. The Indonesian Healthy Ministry reports that “a high proportion of infant and toddler deaths are caused by diseases related to poor sanitation, water and environment” (Cole, 2012).

Complex and Interwoven Water Challenges

Sinking lands, rising seas, leaking drinking water infrastructure, and irresponsible wastewater treatment practices all combine in Badung to create a serious challenge for local residents. As sea levels rise and the land subsides, salt creeps into coastal aquifers and wells. As those water sources become non-potable, residents will be forced to rely on either unreliable (and often unsafe) piped and “refill” water or safer but cost-prohibitive bottled water. The cost of even piped water will likely increase due to the fact that one of the region’s two drinking water treatment plants is projected to be underwater by 2030 (Climate Central, 2021). Additionally, the impacts of the tourism industry on the extraction and distribution of Badung’s water resources is exacerbating existing health issues, food production challenges, and environmental equity concerns.

A Need for Urgent Action

Most of Badung’s water issues are immediate: drinking water is being lost due to deteriorating infrastructure; wastewater is being improperly treated, leading to groundwater contamination; and the over-extraction of groundwater is leading to land subsidence, which is contributing to the salinization of coastal drinking water sources. Sea level rise will dramatically exacerbate these existing issues, but the rate at which that will occur is as yet uncertain. According to Climate Central (2021), Badung will experience some permanent inundation of coastal lands by 2030, leaving the Regency with little time to adapt and plan for resilience. Action should be taken as soon as possible to elevate or relocate critical water infrastructure including wastewater and drinking water treatment plants so as to mitigate the impacts of climate change on Badung’s residents. 

The current water crisis and the need to achieve sustainable growth require communities and business stakeholders to engage with the government to create a sense of ownership of Bali’s water issues. In limiting groundwater use, local governments need to determine whether there are requirements to restrict water withdrawals at each private well point and to promote aquifer recharge to improve aquifer function and restore groundwater quality.

Tourism Industry Policy Reform on Water Use

Badung’s water crisis caused by excessive groundwater extraction demands new water management policies, conservation measures, and water use efficiency. The water agency recognizes the problem; although several regulatory reforms have been instituted, there is a need for more vigorous enforcement to limit groundwater use. The local government has applied a groundwater tax to hotels and restaurants that utilize groundwater through private wells. Hotels and restaurants are required to obtain permits to drill wells and install pump meters to calculate the annual groundwater tax (Water, n.d.)

Groundwater tax contributed 1.9% of Badung Regency’s total revenue in 2015 (Latar, 2017). Unfortunately, only 28% of business owners pay groundwater tax. There are no administrative or practical sanctions, such as fines or termination of groundwater use, for those who violate the rules for paying groundwater taxes (Immanuela, 2017). This could be an opportune time to reform groundwater use regulations. The water agency may consider granting limited licenses, compliance checks for drilling private groundwater wells as well as limiting the amount of extraction. Renewal of the regulation on groundwater limits by implying an upper limit on groundwater use for the tourism industry. This limit can be calculated by considering the total water demand and the current condition of the aquifer in order to balance economic growth and environmental sustainability.

In addition to governance requirements to monitor the aquifer water table and future drinking water quality, the water authority may consider regulating groundwater extraction and enhancing the protection of the island’s water resources by halting the opening of new wells in areas already covered by the municipal water system and introduce gray water reuse in industrial tourism. In addition to reducing dependence on groundwater, gray water has considerable potential in conserving water as the tourism industry accounts for 65% of Bali’s water needs, and tourist visitors use 3-5 times more water than Balinese.

Policies and strategies are needed that simultaneously encourage sustainability and encourage economic growth. The challenge for local governments is knowing when to invest in developing, maintaining, and improving water supply systems and how to promote water security for local residents at the lowest cost per unit. The municipality may need to conduct an audit of the withdrawals and their collection methods. In addition to estimating potential revenue, groundwater taxes can be a new source of funding for local conservation programs, including developing the information needed to support advanced infrastructure planning for growth and educating tourists about water conservation programs in Bali.

Groundwater Recharge

Restricting and regulating groundwater extraction by the tourism industry is incredibly important; however, of equal importance is the need to recharge existing groundwater supplies. To facilitate this recharge strategy, we recommend two methods: small-scale rooftop rainwater harvesting recharge and larger-scale recharge from irrigated agricultural fields and basins.

While the IDEP Foundation has begun a pilot program of 136 groundwater recharge wells throughout Bali, this will not be enough to restore the island’s water table to full functionality. To that end, we propose small-scale household-level groundwater recharge solutions. These solutions will capture rainwater which falls on a roof, diverts that water to a filtration chamber which is lined with mesh, charcoal, pebbles, and sand, and is fed through a gravity distribution system to a bored well onsite. This low-tech, low-cost solution is ideal for Bali’s more developed areas.

In the less-developed agricultural areas of Badung, there is a long history of irrigated fields for rice production. These fields are ideal for capturing rainfall and allowing water to slowly seep into the ground; providing a means for groundwater recharge that also benefits farmers on the island.

The Bali Water Protection Program has identified which parts of the island are most suitable for groundwater recharge. The most suitable areas are in the upland hills, which are primarily comprised of agricultural lands. The next most suitable zone is at a slightly lower elevation but is still mainly rural or agricultural in nature. The most populous and developed areas, shown in brown and white above, are not particularly suitable for recharge strategy implementation.

Within that ideal recharge area, we have used geographic information systems analysis to isolate the best agricultural parcels for groundwater recharge, as seen above. We propose that the Badung Regency’s government partner with the Bali Water Protection Program to encourage and incentivize farmers in those areas to practice irrigated rice production methods which will recharge the groundwater table.

Budget and Funding Sources

We estimate a total budget of approximately $6.5 million USD for the implementation of both rooftop rainwater harvesting recharge and irrigated agricultural lands throughout Badung. To raise sufficient funds for deployment of these strategies, we have identified a range of grants, corporate social responsibility funding, and public-private partnership opportunities.

International grants are one of the financing instruments for developing public facilities in Indonesia regulated in Government Regulation No. 10 of 2011. Based on the Ministry of National Development Planning (2019), approximately 65% of international grants were allocated to Indonesia’s long-term development plans that focus on infrastructure development. The plan prioritized the transportation sector to support national connectivity, as well as water infrastructure development to achieve the national clean water and sanitation targets. In developing projects that aim to redress inequities and ecological degradation issues in water-related developments, several institutions such as the Delft Institute for Water Education and SUEZ–Institut de France Award provide grants generally reserved for developing countries. Besides providing the financing funds, the grants also offer technical assistance from experts and consultants to carry out a particular project.

Other funding opportunities in developing community-scale projects can be maximized using Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) from Badung’s tourism Industry. The Indonesian government regulates businesses to conduct CSR activities (Regulation No 40/2007). The rainwater harvesting recharge project can be implemented optimally using the CSR scheme. Generally, companies will allocate 2-3% of their annual profit to develop social activities, including starred hotels in Bali. Starred hotels mostly placed their biggest concerns on social development and education (Trianasari & Yuniarta, 2015). Tourism businesses are also required to diversify their CSR funds into projects to solve water problems in Bali as a form of their contribution to local water conservation. The lack of CSR projects in water issues can be a consideration for tourism industry stakeholders in diversifying their CSR funds. In addition to contributing to local communities, this method can be a source of alternative funding for water conservation by involving the tourism industry as the primary consumer of water in the Badung area.

Financing for large-scale projects, including the construction of water catchments, may include Public-Private Partnership (PPP) programs. The Indonesian government has instituted the regulation of water infrastructure through PPP (Regulation Number 38 of 2015). Several water infrastructure projects in Indonesia have been successfully constructed using PPP funding (Kompas, 2021). The financing component will generally involve local government, central government, and the private sector. In developing this project, the Badung government will allocate portions of its annual budget. Taxing groundwater withdrawals is another funding stream that can be utilized to support water infrastructure projects throughout Badung.

Conclusions

Badung faces a wide variety of challenges which serve to create water-scarce conditions for local residents. The tourism industry uses an outsized volume of groundwater when compared to the usage rates of local residents and farmers; therefore, a set of comprehensive policies to limit tourism industry groundwater withdrawals will be necessary. In conjunction with this strategy, it will be important to recharge groundwater to restore Bali’s water table via both small-scale rooftop rainwater capture recharge wells as well as through larger-scale irrigated rice fields in the upland regions of the island. Taken together, these strategies will serve to mitigate Badung’s water scarcity crisis while providing a measure of equity and self-sufficiency for local residents.

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