Badung Reservoir Exposed as Utility Keeps 800 L/s Output

Badung — — Badung’s Estuary reservoir in Kuta has been exposed by a prolonged dry season, while the local water utility says its treatment plant is still running at 800 liters per second, according to detikBali and Badung regency government reporting on the same water system.

Perumda Air Minum Tirta Mangutama Badung said the declining raw-water conditions had left parts of the reservoir bed visible, and that it was taking steps to keep water flowing into the Estuary treatment plant, detikBali reported on Sept. 19, 2026. The utility’s chief executive, I Wayan Suyasa, said the company was using small channels to guide remaining water toward the intake, while also increasing blower use and applying additional treatment.

A Badung regency government report published earlier on the same sub-sea pipeline project said the Estuary-to-Nusa Dua line is 7,700 meters long, uses 800 mm HDPE pipe and is designed to carry between 350 and 600 liters per second. The government said the pipeline is intended to strengthen supply to southern Badung, including Kuta Selatan and Kuta.

DetikBali reported that the pipeline installation has been completed, but that the operator is still seeking operating approval before the line can be fully used. Suyasa said he hoped service in southern Badung would improve once the permit is issued.

The utility has also said it is examining seawater processing as a longer-term backup, according to a separate Sept. 3, 2026 report by another local outlet. In that report, Suyasa said the company was preparing seawater reverse osmosis, or SWRO, for coastal areas such as Canggu, Kuta and nearby districts, as raw-water availability on land shrinks and seawater intrusion rises.

That report also said the plan was still under study and did not give a final cost, energy demand or construction timetable. It did, however, quote Suyasa as saying the utility was pursuing the option to support future supply in Badung Selatan.

Separately, a 2025 utility finance document on the Badung regency website said the company holds a permit to take up to 800 liters per second of raw water. A March 2025 local report said the utility was then able to process 750 liters per second and was aiming to increase output, underscoring the gap between permitted intake and usable capacity.

For now, the immediate focus is keeping the Estuary plant operating, finishing the permit process for the underwater pipeline and preparing a longer-term seawater option if dry-season pressure on raw-water sources continues.

Sources

• detikBali
• Badung Regency Government