Citarum, World's Most Polluted River That Becomes Success Story

TheIndonesia.id - Citarum River, the longest river in West Java, was once dubbed as the most polluted river in the world. However, as rehabilitation measures are deemed to be going according to plan, the water quality has been significantly improving, and it now even has the potential to be a productive resource.

In 2018, a calculation into the Water Quality Index (WQI) of Citarum revealed that the river was in poor condition with 33.43 points, but during 2020 and 2021, it has improved with WQI of 55 points. Currently, the water quality is also classified as Class II which means that fish farming is now possible to be done in Citarum.

West Java Governor who is also chief of Citarum rehabilitation task force Ridwan Kamil presented the development of Citarum during the UN Climate Change Conference, or COP26 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. On the occasion, he detailed some of the progress that concerning stakeholders have made in restoring the river.

According to data from West Java Provincial Government, more than 26,000 hectares of critical areas along Citarum’s river basin have been turned into green areas. For 2025, it targets more than 80,000 hectares to be made green areas. As for waste management, it currently reaches 2,700 tons per day.

Meanwhile, the head of West Java’s environment office Prima Mayaningtyas revealed that the chemical oxygen demand (COD) parameter in 2020 dropped significantly compared to the previous years. According to Corrosionpedia, COD testing is typically used to “determine the number of inorganic chemicals” in water.

“COD has decreased significantly, and now, the figure is not too far from the quality standard,” Mayaningtyas said.

From 2019 to 2020, the provincial government also recorded a decrease in domestic waste pollution, as well as a decrease in erosion levels.

In its rehabilitation effort, the task force employs a Penta helix approach which means that it involves academic, business, community, government, and media to create comprehensive impacts. In 2025, the task force targets Citarum to get 60 points in WQI.