Banten Province Installs Automatic Flood Gates at Sarakan Dam to Combat Flooding

The Banten Provincial Government has installed automatic gates at the Sarakan Dam on the Cirarab River in Tangerang Regency. The installation of these seven automatic gates is intended to address flooding in the upstream areas of the Cirarab River. Governor of Banten, Andra Soni, stated that the installation of the water gates is funded by the Banten Province’s 2025 Regional Budget (APBD). The budget allocated for this project is approximately IDR 5 billion. Andra mentioned that several areas upstream, such as Gelam, Villa Total Housing Complex, and its surroundings, had experienced flooding recently. With the installation of these water gates, Andra hopes that the flooding will subside quickly. “As you can see, we’ve just opened the gates, and the water level has already decreased in just a few minutes,” said Governor Andra Soni on Tuesday (24 February 2026). According to Andra, the normalisation of the Cirarab River is currently underway, involving dredging. The dredging process is being carried out from upstream to downstream by the Banten Provincial Government, the Ciliwung Cisadane River Basin Authority (BBWSCC), Tangerang Regency, and Tangerang City. “The remaining section to be dredged is approximately 7 kilometres, leading to the sea. However, I have received information that there are also many sediment deposits in the form of islands. We will coordinate with the authority to ensure that this is addressed and that a short-term solution is implemented,” he said. Meanwhile, the Head of the Public Works and Spatial Planning Department (PUPR), Arlan Marzan, stated that the water gates were previously damaged and malfunctioning. Some farmers had been using wooden barriers to dam the river water. “The structure was already damaged, so at that time, the community manually closed it with large pieces of wood to raise the water level and allow it to flow into the rice fields,” he said. Arlan mentioned that in 2024, the community did not remove these wooden barriers, which led to widespread flooding around the Sarakan Dam. “Perhaps during the rainy season at the end of 2024, they forgot to reopen them, which had a significant impact on the widespread flooding. Therefore, in 2025, we prioritised the construction of new gates using an automatic system,” he said.