The Ministry of Public Works will begin a major transformation of Indonesia’s piped water supply system this year, aiming to achieve 100 percent access by 2045. 

The first measure to do is revising Government Regulation (PP) No. 122/2015 on Drinking Water Supply Systems (SPAM).

Director General of Human Settlements at the Ministry of Public Works, Dewi Chomistriana, said the revision is targeted for completion this year, though she acknowledged the process will be long.

“There will be a change in water governance starting this year. But a transformation process like this cannot be done overnight,” Dewi said on Monday, September 8, 2025.

As of June 2025, piped water access stood at just 19.76 percent, with 13.67 million household connections, equivalent to 16.9 percent of households nationwide.

Four areas of reform

According to the Ministry of Public Works, the transformation will be carried out across four key areas through 2024:

1. Policy Reform – including centralized determination of water tariffs under a full cost recovery principle, and integrating water charges with wastewater service fees;

2. Institutional and Governance Reform – redefining roles in the water sector and preparing for the establishment of a new Water Regulatory Agency to oversee operations;

3. Regulatory Reform – revising outdated rules to support new governance models;

4. Integration of Water and Sanitation – developing infrastructure that connects water supply and sanitation systems from upstream to downstream;

Dewi stressed that the transformation will involve stakeholders across government, private sector, academia, and civil society.

Groundwater exploitation

The Association of Indonesian Municipalities (Apeksi) announced that six cities − Pematang Siantar, Pontianak, Magelang, Salatiga, Surabaya, and Malang − are targeting 100 percent safe drinking water access by 2026, ahead of the national target.

Meanwhile, Minister of Environment Hanif Faisol Nurofiq criticized the over-exploitation of groundwater by bottled water companies. He said that despite marketing claims of “mountain spring water,” nearly all bottled water brands in Indonesia still rely on groundwater.

“Name any international bottled water company in Indonesia − they are all still using groundwater,” Hanif said.

He warned that groundwater is nearly impossible to replenish within a human lifetime, taking decades or even centuries to recover.

“Groundwater doesn’t come back. Even if we lived and died 50 times over, Jakarta’s aquifers would still not be restored,” he said, urging conservation as a core part of long-term investment strategies in natural resource industries.