Bali Not So Lush: Saltwater Intrusion, Water Depletion, Tourist Development Take Toll On Paradise
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The soundtrack at hundreds of upscale Bali hotels is the gentle play of water in swimming pools and fountains. But despite its tropical rainfall, clean water is in critical undersupply. I Made Suanatha, from the local non-government Wisnu Foundation, says locals use about 150 litres of water a day, tourists in hotels use 1500 litres or more.
Most of it does not come down pipes from dams. Those who are connected to piped water find that it rarely actually flows. Instead, businesses and households rely on wells. The hand-bored wells of the locals are about 10 to 12 metres deep. At the big hotels, artesian water is pumped from 60 metres underground. All wells are supposed to be taxed and regulated but nobody pays and nobody measures how much is extracted. The volume is now so great that saltwater is beginning to spoil them.
A researcher at Bali's Udayana university, I Nyoman Sunarta, has identified saltwater intrusion throughout Bali's southern tourist strip and says water quality has ''degraded quite alarmingly'' in recent years.
British academic Dr Stroma Cole says 260 of Bali's 400 rivers have run dry and Bali's biggest natural reserve of water, Lake Buyan, is in deep trouble from shrinkage, sediment and the inflow of agricultural chemicals.
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http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/relentless-tourism-spawns-trouble-in-paradise-20130504-2j0bd.html