Understanding the state of river basin management from an environmental toxicology perspective: an example from water pollution at Citarum river basin, West Java, Indonesia

The Science of the Total Environment, Supplement 1993 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam

283

Understanding the state of river basin management from an environmental toxicology perspective: an example from water pollution at Citarum river basin, West Java, Indonesia Nani Djuangsih

Institute of Ecology, Padjadjaran University, Sekeloa Street, Bandung 40132, Indonesia Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural of Sciences, Padjadjaran UniversityJatinangor, Sumedang, Indonesia

ABSTRACT Citarum river basin is one of the supercritical river basins in Indonesia due to environmental degradation. The holistic/ecosystem approach to river basin management has been taken, because of the existing interactions between rural, urban, river, agricultural land and forest ecosystems at Citarum river basin. Understanding that approach, a preliminary study of the environmental toxicology at Citarum river basin has produced some results as follows. (1) High concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorous compounds in the river water may cause eutrophication problems at the downstream area of Saguling Lake. The fast growing of an aquatic weed Eichhornia crassipes at Saguling lake has been indicated as one of the major problems in relation to the function of the lake as a multipurpose dam for hydroelectric power plans, fishery, tourism and drinking water supply. (2) Toxic chemicals such as metals and organochlorine pesticides have been found in the environment, and should be considered a threat to the sustainable development of aquaculture at Saguling Lake as the resource of income of the rural people. (3) In order to be able to give more concrete inputs to decision makers on the environmental management at Citarurn river basin specifically on the aspect of environmental toxicology (sources, fate and effect of toxic compounds in the environment), the enhancement of capability and knowledge through national and international cooperation is necessary.

Key words: River basin management; Environmental degradation; water quality; Agricultural activities; Industrial activities

R i v e r b a s i n m a n a g e m e n t is b e c o m i n g i n c r e a s i n g l y i m p o r t a n t in r e s o u r c e m a n a g e m e n t , since a r i v e r b a s i n w a t e r s h e d c a n b e t r e a t e d as a single 1993 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

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spatial unit for a scientific understanding of the environmental process. There are various components in the river basin, natural as well as man-made, which interact and affect each other, forming a single functional unit. Therefore a river basin may represent an entire complex of biophysical, social, economic organizational and institutional factors that bear directly on the planning of a sustainable management program. Development of agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, especially the large development projects, may cause a river basin to become increasingly susceptible to various pressures and forces which tend to give rise to a number of watershed management problems. Project developments such as the large development project of dams, and many other small development project of industries which were done sectorally without paying adequate attention to environment and social aspects of the basin, may affect the communities directly or indirectly. The use of chemical compounds in the agricultural and non-agricultural development activities may cause water pollution in the river basin and subsequently may cause the environmental quality of the watershed to decline. CITARUM RIVER BASIN AND MAJOR DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES There are many rivers in Java, Citarum being one of the largest. It is located in West Java Province. The river originates from the foot of Mount Wayang in an agricultural area, about 40 km South of Bandung, and runs through northward for about 225 km and ends at the Java Sea (Fig. 1). The watershed covers several ecosystems of river, agricultural land, forest, urban and rural areas. Based on the environmental conditions the holistic/ecosystem approach has been developed for the Citarum River Basin Management (Fig. 2). The water of the river is used for various purposes, such as a source for drinking water, aquaculture, irrigation, flood control, and hydroelectric development. The topographic condition of the river and its surrounding area give the river great potential for the construction of a series of hydroelectric power plans (HEPP). Juanda HEPP at Jatiluhur was completed in 1968 and has been in operation since. It is located near the mouth of the river. The major function of the dam is for irrigation, but it also produces electricity with an installed capacity of 150 MW. In 1988 the Cirata dam was completed and in 1985 the Saguling dam was finalized. The two HEPPs are now in operation with installed capacities of, respectively, 700 MW and 500 MW. These capacities can be increased to 1400 MW for Saguling and 1500 MW for Cirata if demands for electricity increase.

285

WATER POLLUTION AT CITARUM RIVER BASIN, WEST JAVA

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Other functions of the water are for fish culture using floating nets in Saguling and Cirata reservoirs. The number of floating nets at Saguling in 1988 was about 1200 units and the production of fish was about 2000 ton, and until 1991 was about 1800 units and 3600 ton of fish production (Karyono, 1992). Theoretically Saguling dam can support about 11200 units

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Fig. 2. The ecosystem approach of the watershed management.Adopted from: Soemarwoto, 1979. The arrows indicate the reaction among the components.

without deteriorating the water quality of the reservoir (1% of the surface, about 56 ha, can be allocated for fish culture). Fish culture has been developed also in Cirata. At the end of the Citarum flow, at the estuary, there are shrimp cultures which are developed along the shore line which may be affected also by the water from Citarum. Along the way, the river is also used for many purposes including domestic use, agriculture, industry and others. Because of many development activities in the river basin affecting the multi-function of river, especially in relation to environmental pollution concerns, and its proximity to the Institute of Ecology, the Citarum River Basin presents itself as a natural laboratory for watershed management. FACTORS AFFECTING THE WATER QUALITY OF CITARUM

Since the holistic (ecosystem) approach has been developed in the Citarum River Basin Management, the main factors influencing the water quality in relation to environmental toxicology is the waste from agricultural activity (fertilizer and pesticide), domestic waste (e.g. detergent, metal, plastics), industries (e.g. metal and non-metal compounds) and services (e.g. oil and metal).

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W A T E R POLLUTION AT C I T A R U M RIVER BASIN, WEST JAVA

Agricultural practices There are two types of major pollution from agricultural pesticides, respectively of pesticide residues and fertilizer residues (N and P compounds). Pesticides. Nowadays the use of organochlorine pesticides is prohibited in agricultural practice. However, under control of the government it can be used in pest control management in certain areas for public health purposes. About 300 kinds of organophosphorus and carbamate pesticide compounds have been used in the various sectors of agriculture, industries and households at Citarum watershed. The improper use of pesticides may have adverse effects on the environment, directly through the inhibition of cholinesterase activity in the living organism, and indirectly through food and drinks contaminated by pesticide residues. Koeman et al. (1972) reported that the organochlorine pesticide residues (DDT and its derivates, dieldrin and endrin) were found in the various aquatic organisms originating from different places in Indonesia. Pesticide residues of organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides (fenithrothion, supricide, dichlorvos and propoxur) were found in the Citarum river basin (Table 1). The concentrations of each are very low, in the range of undetectable to 0.388 /~g/1, which is less than the National TABLE 1

Pesticide residues in the water samples at the Citarum river basin, February-June 1990 RiveTs

Average concentration ( ~ g / 1 ) Organochlorine residues

Organophosphorus and carbamate residues

Cijenuk

Cicangkang Cilanang Cijere Ciminyak Citarum (Bojong) Citarum (Cihampelas) Citarum (Pameuntasan) Cibeber ud = Undetectable.

Diazinon

Fenitrothion

Surpricide

Propoxus

Dichlorvos

DDT

HGB

0.153 0.338 0.365 0.305 0.355 0.323 0.270

0.065 0.068 0.070 0.232 0.220 0.050 0.220

0.005 0.005 0.011 0.005 0.018 0.005 0.010

0.105 ud 0.100 ud 0.105 0.113 0.300

0.030 0.018 0.048 ud 0.013 ud 0.090

ud ud 137 1.187 12.500 937 ud

43.430 38.756 48.374 46.380 56.170 40.438 38.000

0.097

0.193

0.007

0.187

0.067

ud

37.228

0.138 0.203

0.173 0.148

0.005 0.003

0.075 0.080

0.060 0.035

10.000 12.500

41.222 3.948

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Water Quality Standard of 0.1 mg/1 for the raw water supply of drinking water the State Ministry of Population and Environment, 1988). However, two kinds of organochlorine pesticide residues were found, with a range of concentration from 37.228 to 56.170 /zg/1 for HCB and from undetectable to 14.374/zg/1 for DDT. Pesticide residues of D D T in the water were less than the National Water Quality Standard for the raw drinking water supply (42 /zg/1). There is no value given for the concentration of HCB in the water in the National Water Quality Standard. However, there is an indication that organochlorine pesticides are more persistent in the environment than the organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides. Organochlorine pesticide residues were found in fish (liver and meat) from three different places in Bandung, which is well known as the biggest city on the Citarum (Table 2). It is shown that D D T and its derivates, dieldrin, endrin, and lindane, were found in liver and meat in the range from undetectable to 1.341 / z g / k g wet weight and undetectable to 1.656 / z g / k g wet weight, respectively. Fertilizer. Chemical fertilizer (urea, NPK fertilizer) is intensively used in agricultural practices at the Citarum River Basin. Baddrudin (1987) stated the load of BOD, COD, total-N, total-P, detergent and phenol at Citarum River Basin to be, respectively, 87.07, 198.51, 38.66, 3.83, 2.19, 0.021 t o n / d a y based on the measurement of the composition, and the load of waste from the fishery activity at the Saguling dam to be: BOD, 100 m g / k g fish/day; NH3, 125 m g / k g fish/day; N-total, 230 m g / k g fish/day; P-total, 30 m g / k g fish/day; and suspended solid 1,528 m g / k g fish/day (Costa-

TABLE 2 Organochlorine pesticide residues in fish (liver and meat), February-June 1990 Location fish pond

S a m p l e Lindane

Dieldrin

op'DDE

pp'DDE

op'DDT

pp'DDT

145 0.491

0.4 ud

Cikapayang Liver Meat

9 ud

14 ud

0.7 ud

145 1.656

Ciliwangi

Liver Meat

ud ud

43 ud

0.8 ud

ud 552

1.108 39

341 ud

Kebon Bibit Liver Meat

ud ud

39 ud

1.2 ud

ud 252

1.341 308

58 4

ud = Undetectable.

WATER POLLUTION AT C I T A R U M RIVER BASIN, WEST JAVA

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Pierce and Otto Soemarwoto, 1990). The concentration of the total phosphorus and nitrogen compounds in the water at the Saguling dam at 20 cm below water surface was in the range 71-589 / , g / l and 224-23,159 /,g/1, respectively. The high content of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds in the water may cause a eutrophication process, and based on the status of the water quality the Saguling dam is categorized as highly eutrophic. Due to this process the explosive growing of aquatic weeds such as Eichhornia crassipes, Hydrilla verticillata, and Salvinia molesta occurs at the Saguling dam. It may give a serious problem for the operation of the hydroelectric power plan, and also decrease the fish production at the lake. The aquatic weed problem is not only at the Saguling dam, however, but at almost all of the dams in Indonesia. Therefore various efforts should be made to use aquatic weeds as natural resources for many purposes in order to increase the quality of life of the rural people, such as methane gas, handicrafts, compost, habitat for earth worms as protein sources in the fish feed and a medium to grow mushroom, and with addition of some chemicals to produce paper (Nani Djuangsih et al., 1992).

Industrial activities The major types of industry at the Citarum river basin are textile, tanning, food and electroplating. These activities may cause water pollution problems at Citarum. The priority concern regarding toxic chemicals in the environment is metal. This is because they are undegradable in the environment and can be accumulated through the food chain (biological magnification process) with a long-term adverse effect on living organisms. The type and amount of the metal load is different among the various industries in the Citarum basin. It depends on the raw material and the process which is used in the industries. Cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, ferro, zinc, chrome, manganese and mercury are found in the industrial sludge of textile, tannery, and chemical electroplating industries (Terangna, 1991). Table 3 shows results from the study of the fate of mercury in the Saguling dam. The highest concentration of mercury is found in the sediment in the range 30.00-84.10 /*g/kg, and then subsequently in the water (1.10-7.40 /,g/kg), fish (10.24-17.53 /*g/kg) and rice (1.10-2.20 /zg/kg). The measurement of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) contents in 116 rice samples produced in Java was done by Suzuki et al., in 1988. The two highest samples of rice containing 0.27 and 0.34 ppm. Cd were derived from the rural area in Bandung. Since the Javanese eat more than 300 g of rice per day, the 0.27 ppm rice could result in 1 6 0 / , g / d a y or more of cadmium ingestion, which amount greatly exceeds the

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TABLE 3 The mercury content in water, sediment, fish and rice at Saguling dam, February-June 1990 Location

Sample

Range of concentration (/xg/1)

Maleber

Water Sediment Fish Rice

2.40-7.40 70.00-83.74 10.24-17.53 1.50-2.12

Citarum

Water Sediment Fish Rice Water Sediment Fish Rice Water Sediment Fish Rice Water Sediment Fish Rice

4.51-2.12 82.00-74.10 14.00-16.53 1.40-1.50 1.00-6.00 30.00-36.00 13.57-17.51 1.10-2.20 2.20-2.80 36.00-64.70 11.24-12.49 1.30-1.90 3.10-3.20 32.00-65.00 13.03-14.52 1.30-2.00

Cipicung

Cisentul

Cisalada

The standard of mercury concentration in water for fishery activities is 5 ~g/1 (Regulation No. 02/MENKLH/I/88).

r e c o m m e n d e d intake of c a d m i u m of 57-71 / z g / d a y proposed by FAO/WHO. Such an intake could lead to light chronic renal damage (Saito et al., 1977). The daily copper intake of a m a n with a m e a n body weight of 54 kg was 2.5 mg, compared to 1.7 m g / d a y for a w o m a n with a m e a n body weight of 42 kg. T h e r e is no Cu deficiency and no copper toxicity in the present daily intake of West Java villagers (Suzuki et al., 1988). Lead content in rice at Padalarang, about 20 km west of Bandung, is in the range 0.9-6.1 mg (Djuangsih and Soemarwoto, 1988). The lead daily intake from rice (300 g) is in the range 0.27-1.81 mg and is less than the tolerable weekly intake of lead (3 m g / p e r s o n ) from foods and drinks (Anonymous, 1977).

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CONCLUSION

Understanding the interaction b e t w e e n the ecosystems of river, agricultural land, forest, urban and rural areas gives a b r o a d e r perspective on the study of environmental toxicology in the river basin. W a t e r pollution by pesticides, metals and fertilizers already exists to some extent in the Citarum River Basin. However, there is still a lack of information on the trends in water pollution in the Citarum river, which is n e e d e d in order to be able to give beneficial input to the decision-makers. Further studies on the fate of toxic chemicals and their impact on living organisms and the other environmental c o m p o n e n t s should be done, and also on techniques to minimize the waste by means of recycling, selecting the p r o p e r industrial processes and non-toxic raw materials. To gain m o r e knowledge and experience to minimize environmental problems related to the river basin management, cooperation with other institutions b o t h nationally and internationally will be very beneficial.

REFERENCES Anonymous, 1977. Air Quality Criteria for Lead. Washington,-U.S. Department of Commerce, NTIS, 6-20-6-25. Baddrudin, M., 1987. Mitigation of Water Pollution at Citarum River Basin. Congress of ITB Allumny Association, Bandung (in Indonesian). Costa-Perce Barry A. and O. Soemarwoto, 1990. Reservoir Fisheries and Aquaculture Development for Resettlement in Indonesia. Electric State Company - - Institute of Ecology, Padjadjaran University, Bandung, Indonesia - - International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management, Manila, Philippines. ISBN 971-1022-50-8. Djuangsih, N. and O. Soemarwoto, 1988. Environmental Lead in the Rice Field in Padalarang, Bandung, West Java. In: S. Suzuki (Ed.), Health Ecology in Indonesia Gyosei Corporation, Tokyo, ISBN 4-324-01227X C 3047. Djuangsih N., Y. Dhahiyat and T. Herawati, 1992. Aquatic Weeds Problems to the Ecosystem Balance of Saguling Dam. Seminar on the Environmental Management of the Saguling Dam. Bandung, April, 12, 1992 (in Indonesian). Karyono, 1992. Implementation of Environmental Management of the Saguling Hydroelectric Power Project. Workshop on the Formulation and Implementation of the Environmental Management and Monitoring. Directorate General of New Energy and Electricity, Cipayung, 21-23 April, 1992 (in Indonesian). Koeman, J.H., J.H. Pennings, R. Rosanto, O. Soemarwoto, P.S. Tjioe, S. Blanche, S. Kusumadinata and R. Rustami Djajadiredja, 1972. Metals and Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Pesticides in Samples of Fish: Sawah-duck Eggs, Crustaceans and Molluses Collected in Indonesia. In April and May, 1972. Wageningen, The Netherlands, 1974. Terangna N., 1991. Water Pollution. The Course of the Environmental Impact Assessment XII. Institute of Ecology, Padjadjaran University (in Indonesian).

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The State Ministry of Population and Environment, 1988. Guideline of Environmental Standard (in Indonesian). Saito, H., R. Shoji, Y. Hurukawa, K. Nagai, T. Arakawa, T. Saito, Y. Yasaki, T. Furujama and K. Yoshinaga, 1977. Cadmium-induced Proximal Disfunction in a Cadmium-polluted Area. Contr. Cephrol. 6, I. Soemarwoto, O., 1979. Ecological Environmental Impacts of Energy Use in Asian Developing Countries, with Particular Reference to Indonesia. Proceedings of the USAID Asia Bureau Conference on Energy, Forestry and Environment, Manila, November 12-16. Suzuki, S., N. Djuangsih, K. Hyodo and O. Soemarwoto, 1980. Cadmium, Copper and Zinc in Rice Produced in Java. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 9:437-449. Suzuki S., K. Hyodo, H. Koyama, N. Djuangsih and O. Soemarwoto, 1988. Estimation of Daily Intake of Cadmium from Foods and Drinks, and from Feces at Three Kampungs of Java Island. Health Ecology in Indonesia (Ed. S. Suzuki). Gyosei Corporation, Tokyo. ISBN 4-324-01227X C 3047.