Bali Flooding Impacts Fresh Water Supply In Top Resort Areas

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The Bali Regional Drinking Water Company, Trita Mangutama, has confirmed that floods in Badung Regency have affected clean water services.

Badung Regency is home to top tourist resorts, including Canggu, Seminyak, Legian, and Kuta.

While Bali’s state of emergency declaration came to a close on the evening of Wednesday, 17th September, heavy rainfall and localised flooding are still affecting many areas of the island, including Denpasar City and Badung Regency.

The full scale of the devastation is still being calculated as government agencies, charities, and communities work together to begin relief and recovery efforts.

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The President Director of the Tirta Mangutama Regional Drinking Water Company, Wayan Suyasa, has spoken to reporters about the impact flooding has had on critical water infrastructure. He revealed that the disruption to water distribution to customers was partly due to the infiltration of waste, particularly plastic, into the water treatment system.

He shared, “The most noticeable thing is the disruption to service because waste, especially plastic, enters the treatment system. Small pieces of debris stuck to the nets can even enter the pumps, requiring the treatment to be temporarily halted.”

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He confirmed that the water distribution disruptions were primarily felt by customers in the southern Badung area. As a solution, the company has been deploying a fleet of clean water tankers to affected locations to ensure community needs are met.

However, he conceded that this measure is insufficient to fully meet public demand. Suyasa told reporters, “We’ve been distributing water via water tankers, but given the scale of the flooding, we certainly can’t reach everyone. We apologize to customers who have had to pay additional costs for water.”

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He also revealed that the flooding had increased operational costs. This is because the flooding caused increased turbidity in the raw water, necessitating additional processing steps and the use of more chemicals.

Suyasa concluded, “The machine wasn’t affected, but processing costs have clearly increased due to the high turbidity. We’re still analyzing this cost increase to calculate it, and it might only be apparent in the current month.”

Tourists visiting Bali have always been advised not to drink or even brush teeth with tap water, especially in the central south of Bali.

Tourists are advised to continue drinking bottled water or consume filtered water, aka ‘air putih’, in a reusable water bottle. No statements have been issued to suggest that the quality of tap water is implicated; rather, the issue was in the distribution. Nonetheless, extra chemicals have been used in the purifying process. 

In some hotels and resorts in Bali, it is possible to drink the tap water, as accommodation providers have implemented water filtration systems across their operations. However, all tourists should check in with their accommodation provider as to what water provisions are available to them throughout their stay.

Although the official state of emergency in Bali came to a close on Wednesday evening, intensive relief and recovery efforts are still underway. More heavy rains are forecast in the coming days, and rainfall marks the unofficial start of the rainy season. Typically, the first wet reason rains do not arrive until late October, though this timeframe is creeping earlier and earlier each year. 

The Chief Executive of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Bali Province, I Gede Agung Teja Bhusana Yadnya, issued an important update to Bali residents and tourists on Wednesday evening.

He stated, “Today, September 17, 2025, is the last day of the determination of the Extreme Weather Disaster Emergency Response status that Mr. Governor established last week. Considering the escalating situation, the escalation of emergency handling is declining, supported by the assessment results of the disaster response team, the Governor of Bali decided that the status of emergency response was declared over and not extended.”

Yadnya concluded, “We are urging the entire community to stay alert as extreme weather remains with the potential to occur again. Keep an eye on the possible dangers in your respective neighborhoods and make efforts to mitigate that risk.”