Measurement of water availability: understanding the relationship between the physics of water and the level of community welfare at Bumiaji District, Batu City, Indonesia

This research attempts to be part of the Sustainable Development Goals movement goal, especially pillar number six. Bumiaji District Batu City, Indonesia is chosen as an empirical case, with the basic assumption that putting together physical and social infrastructures is a crucial success for poverty alleviation. Total respondents are 552 households proportionally distributed at nine villages classified into poor and non-poor families. Primary data was conducted through a face-to-face interview questionnaire. The first aim found that the non-poor households have better access to safe water than the poor by measuring the five components of Water Poverty Index (WPI), in range the WPI value of 55.26 – 80.12 44.98 – 64.91, respectively. However, the two have one similarity wherein the environment indicates the worst component (25.04 – 37.78). For the second question, applying Social Network Analysis with two indexes of participation and density index also depicts a similar result that the non-poor households have higher social ties than the poor. In conclusion, putting together the balanced development between physical infrastructure and human resources is indispensable, particularly on how important environmental education to prevent land-use conversion from green areas to the built-up area.