A respected observer of zoning and development in Bali, Professor Rumawan Salain, once highlighted that water supplies are not evenly distributed across the Island, with some regions naturally more disposed to water scarcity.
Based on data from the Indonesian Ministry of the Environment and Forestry published in 2021, the entire Island of Bali will soon confront a “water deficit” by 2025.
As reported by Balipost.com, the Environment Ministry recorded in 2021 that Bali’s water requirements amounted to 5,951.92 liters per second. In 2025, water usage is projected to increase to 7,991.29 liters per second.
Experts warn that Bali will experience a water deficit by 2025 if the current infrastructure providing piped water does not urgently add more capacity.
The Bali Chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WAHLI) estimates that the hotel sector consumes 56% of Bali’s total water supply. The Ecoregion Development Control Center for Bali and Nusa Tenggara declared in 2021 that Bali’s water reserves are no longer sustainable.
The Executive Director of WAHLI-Bali, Made Krisna Dinata, recently estimated that every starred hotel room in Bali consumes at least 800 liters of water daily. Non-starred hotels consume 250 liters of water per room per day.
“Hotels are grouped as the ‘greediest’ users of water. Compared with domestic consumption of water (for Bali as a whole), which stands at only 200 liters of water per person per day,” said Dinata. The WAHL-Bali Executive cited worrisome data from the National Statistic Agency (BPS) that reports Bali recorded a sharp increase in hotels from 113 in 2000 to 541 in 2023.
During the same 23-year period, hotel rooms grew from 19,000 to 54,000. WAHLI has long warned that the rapid hotel development spree on the Island of Bali portends for an ecological crisis in the future. WAHLI warns that various accommodation developments burden the Island with a negative environmental impact due to the diversion of land use away from agricultural pursuits and the worsening water crisis.
WAHLI-Bali strongly supports calls on the government to impose a development moratorium on new accommodation projects to preserve and protect the Island’s natural beauty and resources. The non-profit environmental organization says efforts are needed to restore Bali’s environment by strengthening the enforcement of rules and regulations governing shoreline use, forestry and jungle conservation, and safeguarding agricultural lands.
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