{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1881083,
        "msgid": "kali-wonosari-spring-an-oasis-amidst-gunungkiduls-drought-1784976855",
        "date": "2026-07-25 17:14:11",
        "title": "Kali Wonosari Spring: An Oasis Amidst Gunungkidul's Drought",
        "author": "",
        "source": "ANTARA_ID",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Social Policy",
        "summary": "As drought grips the karst hills of Gunungkidul, residents of Duwet Hamlet rely on the turbid waters of the Kali Wonosari spring for their daily needs, undertaking a traditional 'ngangsu banyu' ritual. The local government has distributed hundreds of thousands of litres of clean water, with Tepus District identified as the worst-affected area. Officials acknowledge that the region's topography and limited piped water network force communities to depend on dwindling natural sources until the rains return.",
        "content": "<p>In the hilly area of Duwet Hamlet, Purwodadi Village, Tepus District,\nGunungkidul Regency, there is a spring known to locals as thuk Kali\nWonosari. The spring area is quite extensive. However, when the dry\nseason arrives, its water flow shrinks drastically until it nearly dries\nup. The spring is not a source of clear water as often depicted in\ndrinking water advertisements. To the naked eye, the water appears\nturbid, far from a crystalline impression. Nevertheless, for the\nsurrounding community, this spring is the main pillar of life when\ndrought strikes. Every dry season, the location is always crowded with\nresidents. They come carrying jerry cans and used mineral water gallons\nto fill and take home. This activity, which has been passed down through\ngenerations, is known as ngangsu banyu. In one corner of the spring pool\nstand two simple bathing cubicles made of cement, without a roof and\nunpainted. The male and female cubicles are separated only by a wall\nabout two metres high. To bathe, residents must draw water using a\nbucket tied with a rope to reach the water surface at the bottom of the\npool. Although the water is turbid, residents consider the Kali Wonosari\nspring an oasis amidst the drought. Almost every day, the place is never\ndeserted, especially when the dry season begins to trigger a clean water\ncrisis. Residents are willing to queue to get water. Some modify their\nmotorcycles to transport jerry cans, while others carry gallons using a\njarik (long batik cloth), a sight still commonly found in the rural\nareas of Gunungkidul. Under the shade of ketos, laban, and munggur trees\nsurrounding the pool, Wiwin (30) appeared carrying a used mineral water\ngallon using a jarik. With careful steps, she descended the cliff\ntowards the water source, then filled the gallon from a small puddle.\nFrom between the rocks, water flowed slowly through a split bamboo used\nas a simple channel. \u201cIt has been like this since the time of our\nancestors, residents here ngangsu banyu because every dry season water\nis always difficult to get,\u201d said Wiwin while tightening the jarik\nwrapped around her body. Since May, when her residence began to run\nshort of water, Wiwin has been going back and forth four to five times a\nday from home to the Kali Wonosari spring to fetch water. The spring is\nabout two kilometres from her home. Usually, she leaves at 5 a.m. WIB\nbefore starting her daily activities. The water she carries is used for\ncooking and meeting household needs. \u201cAlmost every day I carry jerry\ncans and used mineral water gallons, going up and down here to meet the\nwater needs at home,\u201d she said. If the water supply at home runs low,\nWiwin also often comes at night to fetch water. Another resident of\nDuwet Hamlet, Wahyu (34), also depends on the spring water for his\nfamily\u2019s needs. He takes turns queuing with other residents while\ncarrying two jerry cans, each with a capacity of 30 litres. \u201cI bring two\njerry cans, transported using a motorcycle whose rear has been\nmodified,\u201d he said. According to Wahyu, the ngangsu banyu tradition is\nonly practised during the dry season, especially when drought hits.\nDuring the rainy season, residents\u2019 water needs are generally met\nthrough rainwater harvesting tanks owned by almost every household. Most\nvillages in Tepus District feel the impact of drought every dry season.\nResidents utilise the remaining springs before they completely dry up.\nIn several areas, the network of the Regional Drinking Water Company\n(PDAM) has also not yet reached all settlements. Some residents\neventually choose to buy clean water from tanker truck service\nproviders. \u201cEven then, you have to queue. The waiting time can be up to\ntwo weeks,\u201d said Wiwin. Because of this, although it appears turbid, the\nwater from the Kali Wonosari spring remains a saviour for residents.\nBefore consumption, the water is first boiled and filtered to reduce\nsediment. \u201cLater, around August to September, the number of residents\nfetching water will increase, while the water flow will actually\ndecrease,\u201d she said. The Gunungkidul Regency Government, through the\nRegional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), continues to work to address\nthe impacts of drought occurring in several areas. Head of BPBD\nGunungkidul Purwono said that to date, his agency has distributed\n636,000 litres of clean water to various affected areas. \u201cThat is just\nfrom BPBD. Water distribution is also carried out by each kapanewon\ngovernment, but we have not yet received all the data,\u201d he said.\nKapanewon is the term for a district-level area in the Special Region of\nYogyakarta. According to Purwono, Tepus District is the area most\naffected by drought, followed by Rongkop District. Specifically in\nTepus, BPBD has distributed 40 tanks of clean water and is currently\nawaiting additional proposals for further distribution. \u201cWe are still\nwaiting for proposals from Tepus,\u201d he said. He explained that the\ndrought in Gunungkidul is influenced by the topographical conditions of\nthe karst hills, which have very few surface springs. In addition, the\nservice coverage of PDAM in several remote areas also does not routinely\nmeet the community\u2019s daily water needs. Meanwhile, Head of Social\nServices for the Tepus District Government Sukisno said his office had\ndistributed clean water assistance using the district budget to three\nvillages, namely Purwodadi, Sidoharjo, and Tepus, totalling 100 water\ntanks. \u201cWe have already dropped clean water in Purwodadi Village,\u201d he\nsaid. He confirmed that residents of Duwet Hamlet, Purwodadi Village,\nare beginning to experience drought and rely on the Kali Wonosari spring\nas a water source. However, the district government cannot yet confirm\nwhether the spring will be able to last throughout the dry season.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kali-wonosari-spring-an-oasis-amidst-gunungkiduls-drought-1784976855",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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