Real demand survey of the water supply system in Padang city

This study aims to get a description of the real demand for the water supply system in Padang city. Through this survey, the actual conditions of drinking water supply services and the problems faced by the regional water company (PDAM) are evaluated. Besides, the willingness to serve and to pay is assessed. The real demand survey was conducted by distributing the questionnaires and through direct interviews with 200 samples in 11 sub-districts in Padang City with a stratified random sampling method. 51% of the respondents were served by public water supply PDAM, 44% by non- piping, and 5% by community-based water supply and sanitation (Pamsimas). 62% of the respondents who subscribe to PDAM still consume bottled water for their drinking water for practical reasons, and because of PDAM water tastes of chlorine. From the respondents not served by PDAM, 45% of respondents expressed interest in obtaining the piping service. The potential areas for increasing the service coverage are Kuranji Subdistrict, Koto Tangah Subdistrict, Pauh Subdistrict, and Lubuk Begalung Subdistrict. Some households choose not to be served by PDAM due to the non-continuous water supply and it being too expensive. A customer who wants to be served can pay a connection fee of between IDR 100,000 to IDR 500,000. Meanwhile, for the water rates every month cover around IDR 50,000–150,000 or 3-10% of their income. The PDAM still needs to improve its water supply systems in terms of continuity and water quality, especially for the existing service areas.