Not to mention local traders washing the footpaths and roads outside their shops!!!..crazy:icon_rolleyes:
Well it's not true that Bali is running out of water. For sure, a few localities may be depleting their groundwater too quickly - but this is not a Bali-wide problem. Rainfalls are good, rivers are running, so why not water the plants?
Haha, no one is actually trying to wash the road. It's an effort to minimalize the dust that gets kicked up by all of the motorbikes going by.
I water myh plants as well. What strucks me is them doing it at noon, and not early morning or late afternoon.
(9/2/2011)
Bali is failing to optimize the use of its fresh water resources, adding further pressure to the current water shortage expected to go critical by 2015. According to Beritabali.com, Bali is suffering a shortfall in its fresh water supply equal to 1,500 liters every second.
Bali News: The Coming Water Crisis in Bali
Hi Ron
Last year, for example, about a quarter of Bali's rivers went dry. I see locals every day not turning off taps properly as if water grows on trees (sorry for the strange mixed metaphor). Watering plants in the heat of the day is simply wasteful. The water level in the Mt Batur lake is dropping every year. I believe these are serious matters with dire consequences in the very near future if not addressed properly.
I'm sorry but I can't agree with you. The looming "water crisis" is real and it's not only my opinion. I started mentioning this possibility several years ago.
Last year, for example, about a quarter of Bali's rivers went dry. I see locals every day not turning off taps properly as if water grows on trees (sorry for the strange mixed metaphor). Watering plants in the heat of the day is simply wasteful. The water level in the Mt Batur lake is dropping every year. I believe these are serious matters with dire consequences in the very near future if not addressed properly.
An article this morning on Balidiscovery.com
According to Dr Dharma Putra of the Center for the Study of Sustainable Development at Bali’s Udayana University,
"...one of the main causes of the fresh water crisis in Bali is the island’s failure to optimize the use of fresh water sources - primarily from waters discharged each day into the sea from the Unda, Telaga Waja and other waterways."
Maybe this could be part of the solution.
Full story here:Bali News: We Shall Gather at the River
According to Dr Dharma Putra of the Center for the Study of Sustainable Development at Bali’s Udayana University,
"...one of the main causes of the fresh water crisis in Bali is the island’s failure to optimize the use of fresh water sources - primarily from waters discharged each day into the sea from the Unda, Telaga Waja and other waterways."
Maybe this could be part of the solution.
Full story here:Bali News: We Shall Gather at the River
@Kaz
Bali's population: nearly 4 million
Annual tourists: nearly 3 million
"Ideal" population: less than 2 million
Some parts of Bali do not get a lot of rain (e.g., there are drought conditions right now in parts of Karangasem)
It shouldn't be too difficult to realise that there is a supply/demand imbalance, (which is not being addressed properly).
Mismanagement of resources, indifference/ignorance of environmental issues, lack of realistic planning, corruption and general apathy are all contributing factors.
There may well be "solutions", but not without radical and rapid changes to the governance of Bali. Trying to continually increase tourist numbers seems rather pointless (and dangerous) to my way of thinking. An adequate supply of fresh water for the Balinese is about as fundamental as it gets. Things like thirsty golf-courses certainly haven't helped matters, as benign as they may appear. The concept that something as simple as leaking taps dramatically waste water doesn't seem to be shared by many Balinese (and many tourists, also).
The 1500 litres per second shortfall of fresh water is serious!
I personally doubt that we will have to wait until 2015 before it goes "critical".
I sure hope I'm wrong.
You would think so. However, consider the following:
Bali's population: nearly 4 million
Annual tourists: nearly 3 million
"Ideal" population: less than 2 million
Some parts of Bali do not get a lot of rain (e.g., there are drought conditions right now in parts of Karangasem)
It shouldn't be too difficult to realise that there is a supply/demand imbalance, (which is not being addressed properly).
Mismanagement of resources, indifference/ignorance of environmental issues, lack of realistic planning, corruption and general apathy are all contributing factors.
There may well be "solutions", but not without radical and rapid changes to the governance of Bali. Trying to continually increase tourist numbers seems rather pointless (and dangerous) to my way of thinking. An adequate supply of fresh water for the Balinese is about as fundamental as it gets. Things like thirsty golf-courses certainly haven't helped matters, as benign as they may appear. The concept that something as simple as leaking taps dramatically waste water doesn't seem to be shared by many Balinese (and many tourists, also).
The 1500 litres per second shortfall of fresh water is serious!
I personally doubt that we will have to wait until 2015 before it goes "critical".
I sure hope I'm wrong.
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No Water
Bali is running out of water. On an island and over populated with business', houses, people, cars, urban gardens, etc, etc, etc,
Bali is running out of water. On an island and over populated with business', houses, people, cars, urban gardens, etc, etc, etc,
Water is an issue but...
Water is definitely an issue in Bali and I believe the government supply has been guranteed to 2013 only in the built up areas of Legian and Seminyak.
Many local authorities and developers have been discussing the various ways to ensure a more stable water supply and also the education process for both locals and tourists alike on reducing water waste.
Some things many people are debating and discussing wholeheartedly include, effective rainwater harvesting (i am still not sure why this is not mandatory in all new developments or buildings), grey / black water recycling, de-salination opportunities and other technically advanced solutions in meeting the ever increasing demand for water on the Island.
Fundamentally, I believe it is a question of education at the very lowest level...primary schools should adopt a program similar to the Australian school program a few years ago "Dont be a Wally with Water" teaching children to turn of taps properly, and to encourage watering at dusk and dawn etc. If it starts there we may hold out some hope. I know many of the International schools have similar programs and are getting the message out, so in the meantime we can simply be concious of our own water usage and hope this crisis is not an inevitable one.
There....thats my 2 cents for anybody interested :icon_biggrin:
Water is definitely an issue in Bali and I believe the government supply has been guranteed to 2013 only in the built up areas of Legian and Seminyak.
Many local authorities and developers have been discussing the various ways to ensure a more stable water supply and also the education process for both locals and tourists alike on reducing water waste.
Some things many people are debating and discussing wholeheartedly include, effective rainwater harvesting (i am still not sure why this is not mandatory in all new developments or buildings), grey / black water recycling, de-salination opportunities and other technically advanced solutions in meeting the ever increasing demand for water on the Island.
Fundamentally, I believe it is a question of education at the very lowest level...primary schools should adopt a program similar to the Australian school program a few years ago "Dont be a Wally with Water" teaching children to turn of taps properly, and to encourage watering at dusk and dawn etc. If it starts there we may hold out some hope. I know many of the International schools have similar programs and are getting the message out, so in the meantime we can simply be concious of our own water usage and hope this crisis is not an inevitable one.
There....thats my 2 cents for anybody interested :icon_biggrin:
bali and technically advanced solutions...:highly_amused:
watering during the day is not so the plants/grass get water to survive, but it keeps the ground from cracking under the burning heat.
I too always watered at sundown, well I turned the tap on and the sprinkler did the rest, but my gardener said we should water around noon...that's better for the ground.
I explained to him the grass and plants would burn because of the water, he smiled and said trust me...I did, and grass and plants didn't burn and so the first two years I lived here I had
cracks in the ground, last 3 years none :icon_biggrin:.
watering during the day is not so the plants/grass get water to survive, but it keeps the ground from cracking under the burning heat.
I too always watered at sundown, well I turned the tap on and the sprinkler did the rest, but my gardener said we should water around noon...that's better for the ground.
I explained to him the grass and plants would burn because of the water, he smiled and said trust me...I did, and grass and plants didn't burn and so the first two years I lived here I had
cracks in the ground, last 3 years none :icon_biggrin:.
dry parts of bali
True,but i asked many Balinese already why they did not make even a simple raincatchment system.The answer was that they believe rain makes you sick.As simpel as that.
I made a tour to Amed last week,driving by the Ujung-Seraya southern coast road.All the small rivers that usually cross the road were dry,and the whole area is completely dried out.There is no water to water any plants or trees.All along the road the people place strings of jerrycans at the edge of the road that are filled by a watertruck.That seems to be their only watersupply at the moment.
I do not doubt it would be possible to make some reservoirs that could be fed with the riverwater that now runs to the sea,to prolong the time riverwater is available.That would mean political will,and i fear no politician is interested in the fate of the poor people that live there.
True,but i asked many Balinese already why they did not make even a simple raincatchment system.The answer was that they believe rain makes you sick.As simpel as that.
I made a tour to Amed last week,driving by the Ujung-Seraya southern coast road.All the small rivers that usually cross the road were dry,and the whole area is completely dried out.There is no water to water any plants or trees.All along the road the people place strings of jerrycans at the edge of the road that are filled by a watertruck.That seems to be their only watersupply at the moment.
I do not doubt it would be possible to make some reservoirs that could be fed with the riverwater that now runs to the sea,to prolong the time riverwater is available.That would mean political will,and i fear no politician is interested in the fate of the poor people that live there.
Thanks for the picture Gilbert. That looks very dry and almost reminds me of desert like conditions.
Still, in my personal opinion I think that watering a garden at noon to prevent cracks can only be considered a short term solution and will inadvertently make it worse on the long term.
Still, in my personal opinion I think that watering a garden at noon to prevent cracks can only be considered a short term solution and will inadvertently make it worse on the long term.
Mulching!!!!!
Ok,i get your point Gilbert,but to prevent the soil drying out, mulching under plants and trees is an better option.That means covering the bare soil with dead leafs or whatever is available.(rice husks,grass cuttings)When doing that combined with watering at dusk or dawn,i think that would be a more watersaving system.Planting groundcover also helps a lot.
Ok,i get your point Gilbert,but to prevent the soil drying out, mulching under plants and trees is an better option.That means covering the bare soil with dead leafs or whatever is available.(rice husks,grass cuttings)When doing that combined with watering at dusk or dawn,i think that would be a more watersaving system.Planting groundcover also helps a lot.
you're welcome balibule...living on a mountain is great for people, meaning there's always a cool breeze..but I guess that breeze doesn't help keeping the ground
cool..maybe the big difference in temp at night and day also adds to the drying out..I have no idea, just guessing here.
I hear ya, but that's kinda hard to do on a patch of mutiara rumput, I mean no sense in having a nice soft green patch of grass and then covering that up with
dead leafs :icon_wink:
oh and I didn't say I was on a watersaving program, imho no sense in cutting down on my waterusage...since there's no way it would help the people in the south or east of Bali getting water.
they, the PDAM, did recently put another pipe next to my pipe for people living in Panji/Singaraja..ofcourse they immediatly raised the cubic price of water from
2ribu to 5ribu...but after a demo, the old price was reinstated just as fast.
cool..maybe the big difference in temp at night and day also adds to the drying out..I have no idea, just guessing here.
I hear ya, but that's kinda hard to do on a patch of mutiara rumput, I mean no sense in having a nice soft green patch of grass and then covering that up with
dead leafs :icon_wink:
oh and I didn't say I was on a watersaving program, imho no sense in cutting down on my waterusage...since there's no way it would help the people in the south or east of Bali getting water.
they, the PDAM, did recently put another pipe next to my pipe for people living in Panji/Singaraja..ofcourse they immediatly raised the cubic price of water from
2ribu to 5ribu...but after a demo, the old price was reinstated just as fast.