Case study: Griya Katulampa

Griya Katulampa is a settlement located in Katulampa Village in East Bogor District, Bogor City. Built in 1992, it houses 2257 people in 460 dwellings. Its water is provided by PDAM. Griya Katulampa is a community with great potential in relation to water, given its privileged position between the Kali Baru River and the Ciliwung River. The local community has shown strong mutual cooperation in protecting the environment and initiative in taking care of the environment, especially in the case of water resources, such as using alternative water sources from existing springs and building a distribution system. 

With its potential, Griya Katulampa can offer some valuable lessons in water resource management to become a Water Sensitive City. There is an opportunity to provide advice for better waste management in Griya Katulampa, using green infrastructure such as constructed wetlands, biofilters and bioswales to reduce water pollution to the river and stormwater runoff. 

Currently, Griya Katulampa has implemented pilot projects for bioretention at communal and household scale. These pilot projects have been successful in reducing the stormwater runoff in the area. The Urban Water Cluster also explored the capability of rainwater harvesting at the communal and household levels and found that it had great potential for decreasing the reliance on city water for non-drinking purposes, such as irrigation, toilet flushing and fish ponds.

Results and achievements

Several steps are recommended to be adopted for the effective leapfrogging of Griya Katulampa towards becoming a water sensitive city:

• Demonstration of community organisation, engagement, initiative, self-management and self-sufficiency. This allows initiatives to move forwards without waiting for government support.
• Further knowledge transfer to communities of water management and related skills by developing and operating the system themselves. Observations reported by the community on spring water quality demonstrate this local knowledge.
• Further instilling the importance of water to the community ensures it has a tangible interest in maintaining the quantity and quality of water resources. This interest promotes ongoing maintenance of the system, and each household participates in maintenance.
• Demonstration of the multiple benefits provided by passive and natural water supply and treatment systems. The system in Griya Katulampa is considered an added value to living in the area and is expected to add to property values.
• The passive gravity-fed system avoids potentially expensive operating costs
• Cultivating fish in ponds to help prevent growth of mosquito habitats by eating mosquito larvae.
• Further understanding of the key drivers of community self-motivation will be valuable to promote this in other communities.