123 Million Litres of Clean Water Ready to Be Distributed to El Niño-Affected Areas in Central Java
The Head of the Central Java Provincial Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), Bergas Catursasi Penanggungan, revealed that 28 districts and cities in Central Java have prepared clean water assistance to address the potential drought due to the El Niño phenomenon. The total volume of water ready for distribution amounts to 123 million litres.
Bergas explained that Central Java experienced droughts caused by El Niño in 2019 and 2023. According to Bergas, these events served as lessons for BPBDs in the districts and cities to anticipate similar occurrences. One of the issues that must be mitigated is the availability and supply of clean water for communities in affected areas.
“We have held coordination meetings with district and city BPBDs, as they are the first line and must prepare for the dry season. In our case, it relates to the need for clean water,” said Bergas during an interview on Friday (17/4/2026).
He explained that, reflecting on the droughts caused by El Niño in 2019 and 2023, the Central Java BPBD has requested district and city governments, through their respective BPBDs, to allocate special budgets for providing clean water assistance.
“We look at the history from 2019 and 2023 to guide our steps in 2026, one of which is the needs in areas related to clean water that can be mobilised by the government, especially local governments. Therefore, we remind the BPBDs (districts/cities) to budget for that (clean water assistance) in 2026 and 2027,” stated Bergas.
According to Bergas, out of 35 districts and cities, BPBDs in 28 areas in Central Java have budgeted for clean water assistance to anticipate drought due to El Niño. “So the total availability from the districts and cities, we are providing 123 million litres,” he said.
The precise amount recorded by the Central Java BPBD is 123,194,226 litres. The BPBD of Klaten Regency provides the largest amount of clean water assistance, namely 57.69 million litres. The BPBDs of Boyolali Regency and Semarang Regency follow in second place with 13.40 million litres and 12.89 million litres respectively. Meanwhile, the BPBD of Pemalang Regency has the lowest provision of clean water assistance, amounting to 65,000 litres.