Using this polluted water is a risky calculation for many of the 30 million people who rely on it for irrigation, washing and even drinking water -- including around 80 percent of residents in the sprawling capital Jakarta.The 57-year-old villager said he was sacked from his Freestanding Bathtubs suppliers job as a textile factory security guard after asking questions about the firms waste disposal system.Making matters worse, many locals think nothing of tossing their household waste into its toxic waters."

The number of people going to the health clinic is very high," Riswandani said.Supriyadi depends on the Citarums murky waters -- a floating carpet of household rubbish, toxic chemicals and animal feces -- to irrigate a small rice plot in West Java that sustains his family of six. It was so clean.Previous research has shown it has alarming levels of toxic chemicals -- including 1,000 times more lead than the US standard for safe drinking water."There are floods during the rainy season.It was so cleanThat poses a serious health risk, especially for the five million people living in the rivers basin.Meanwhile, dredging equipment will be used to clean up the filthy river, said Djoko Hartoyo, a spokesman for the Ministry of Maritime Affairs."I long to see the Citarum like it was when I was young", Fachrureza said. And CCTV cameras are to be installed along the rivers banks to keep an eye out for offenders dumping waste in the early morning hours to evade detection.Locals hope Jakartas new goals can be achieved."In the 1980s, a new industrial zone sprang up around the small town of Majalaya, about 170 kilometres east of Jakarta, and things quickly changed for the pristine river. My hands get itchy and the harvest is damaged," the 54-year-old said.

Waste levels can vary depending on how pollution is measured and the time of the year. But the Citarum is dangerous by almost any standard.It regularly appears on most-polluted lists alongside Indias Ganges river, the Mississippi river in the United States and Chinas Yellow river. "I could swim in it and drink the water.Not playing aroundIn January, Jakarta yanked responsibility away from local government, and vowed to get tough on business owners who ignore waste-disposal rules."We keep reporting these issues to the government, but we never get a solution.The World Bank declared it the most-polluted river in the world a decade ago, an description widely picked up by media and environmentalists."He and other frustrated activists have blocked some waste pipes with rocks and concrete, but the factories usually remove the blockage right away.".Factories that fall short could have operating permits revoked.Now faced with a health emergency after decades of failed clean-up efforts, Jakarta is stepping in with a seemingly impossible goal: make the Citarums water drinkable by 2025."Pollution makes my rice hollow. But he has few other options."Most factories here have a waste disposal system, but they dont work properly because its just a formality," said Deni Riswandani from local environmental group Elingan."We are not playing around this time," he added.At nearly 300-kilometres long, the river is also a key source for hydroelectric power for Indonesias most populated island Java and tourism hotspot Bali.The scabies on Indonesian rice farmer Yusuf Supriyadis limbs are a daily reminder of the costs of living next to the "worlds dirtiest river". If I keep going Ill lose money, but if I dont, Ill have no other job," he adds.The farmer’s rice yield is now down by two-thirds in the rainy season as textile factories dump more and more industrial waste into the river."

Were going in with a holistic approach so we are optimistic we can make Citarum clean again, just like it was 50 or 60 years ago. But theyre also sceptical given the scale of the task and endemic corruption that could see factory owners try to buy their way out of trouble.Factory pipes dump waste directly into waters bubbling with chemical dyes used in textiles, creating an overwhelming stench.Many locals suffer from skin diseases like scabies and dermatitis, as well as respiratory infections from inhaling factory pollution."When it rains and my house gets flooded, the smell is awful," Achmad Fachrureza said from inside an inflatable dingy, as he navigated the rivers styrofoam containers, fabric, empty cans, plastic bottles and garbage bags.Some 2,000 area textile factories have provided much-needed jobs, but it came with a heavy cost: about 280 tons of industrial waste are dumped into the river each day, according to government and environmental group data.

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