Even though Indonesia water resources accounted has for almost six percent of the world water resources or about 21 percent total water resources in the Asia Pacific region, in fact clean water is becoming serious problem in Indonesia. Based on data shows that water consumption tends to increase significantly, total water demand in 2000 is approximately 156,000 millions m³ per annum. It is predicted that the figure will be doubled to 356,575 million m³ per annum by 2015. However the availability of clean water in term of quantity tends to decrease due to environmental degradation and pollution. The rate of water resources degradation accounted for 15-35 % per capita annually.

In the recent, at least 80 percent of 250 millions Indonesian has no access to piped water. Due to difficulties and limited access to clean water large number of people still using river for drinking water, bathing, and washing. There was an indication that people in the village uses river as drinking water resources tends to decrease from 22.8 percent to 22.5 percent during period 1999-2002. However, during the same period, there was an increasing trend people using river for washing and bathing from 65.2 to 66.2 percent.

There is several factors caused degradation of water resources quality in Indonesia, such as domestic waste. The data show that from 51,372,661 houses in Indonesia, there is only 42.8 percent has domestic waste treatment. About 56.15 percent of household disposes their domestic waste directly to river body. Therefore, and six major rivers in West Java do not meet requirement for drinking water raw water due to pollution by domestic and industrial wastes.

In addition to domestic activities, sources of water pollution also come from industrial activities wastes water such as small scale industries, agriculture, textile, pulp and paper, petrochemical, mining, and oil and gas. For example, water quality in location near mining area potentially contaminated by heavy metal such as mercury (Hg). Monitoring data show that some level of mercury (Hg) concentration has been detected at nine sampling point from 16 sampling point with the highest level of dissolved mercury in one of mining area could reach 2.78 ug/l.

The result of water quality monitoring in 30 rivers in Indonesia indicates that most of river water quality do not meet water criteria class 1 (drinking water raw based on Regulation 82/2001). On the basis of parameter BOD, there is only 21 percent of samples meet the water criteria class 1. In other word most of river BOD is above 10 ppm, in fact concentration of BOD could reach 100 ppm. This figure is not different for other parameter such as COD and DO.

Other attention should also be paid to decreasing of lake water quality. Similar to river body, there are a lot of pressures to lakes water quality in Indonesia from domestic activities, agriculture, and industrial. Data monitoring in four major lakes in Indonesia such as Toba, Singkarak, Waduk Jatiluhur, and Situ Patenggang show that water quality on the basis of COD and BOD parameters are above water criteria class (Gov-Regulation No. 82/2001).