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Pollution Constraints on Raw-Water Security in the Air Bengkulu Watershed: Linking Water-Quality Exceedances, Pollutant Loads, and Service Delivery

Author(s): Riang Adeko 1 , 2 , ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6905-9420 , Yudhi Harini Bertham 1 ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4708-7524 , Wahyudi Arianto 1 , Khairul Amri 3
Author(s) information:
1 Doctoral Program in Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bengkulu, Bengkulu, Indonesia
2 Department of Environmental Health, Health Polytechnic, Ministry of Health, Bengkulu, Bengkulu, Indonesia
3 Civil Engineering Study Program, Faculty of Engineering, University of Bengkulu, Bengkulu, Indonesia

Corresponding author

Raw-water security in urban watersheds depends on the interaction among hydrological potential, source-water quality, and the capacity of water-supply systems to deliver reliable services. This study developed a source-to-service diagnostic framework for the Air Bengkulu Watershed, Indonesia, integrating 90% dependable flow (Q90), normative domestic water demand, actual piped-water delivery, regulatory water-quality exceedances, and event-based pollutant transport. The results showed that dependable flow substantially exceeded normative domestic water demand, whereas actual household piped-water delivery accounted for only 38.0% of the estimated demand. This ratio was interpreted as an indicator of service delivery relative to planning requirements rather than a measure of household coverage or total water availability. Across three monitoring campaigns conducted in 2025, downstream water quality consistently exceeded Class II regulatory thresholds for organic pollutants, nutrients, oil and grease, and faecal contamination indicators. Event-based calculations further demonstrated that pollutant transport varied substantially with river discharge, highlighting the limitations of assessing pollution solely through concentration measurements. The main novelty of this study lies in integrating hydrological potential, pollutant loads, flow-dependent transport, and actual water-service delivery within a unified source-to-service assessment framework. The findings emphasize the importance of risk-based pollution control, flow-synchronized water-quality monitoring, improved intake management, and treatment preparedness. The proposed framework supports more informed water-resource management without assuming that all dependable river flow is directly available for abstraction, treatment, or household distribution.

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About this article

SUBMITTED: 18 September 2026
ACCEPTED: 06 October 2026
PUBLISHED: 11 October 2026
SUBMITTED to ACCEPTED: 18 days
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53623/idwm.v6i2.1430

Cite this article
Adeko, R., Bertham, Y. H. ., Arianto, W. ., & Amri, K. . (2026). Pollution Constraints on Raw-Water Security in the Air Bengkulu Watershed: Linking Water-Quality Exceedances, Pollutant Loads, and Service Delivery. Industrial and Domestic Waste Management, 6(2), 525−545. https://doi.org/10.53623/idwm.v6i2.1430
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