Batutegi and Way Sekampung Dams to Irrigate 32,676 Ha Until December

Bandar Lampung (ANTARA) - The Mesuji Sekampung River Basin Authority states that the estimated capacity of the Batutegi Dam and Way Sekampung Dam to irrigate agricultural land until December 2026 can reach a planting area of up to 32,676 hectares (ha).

“It is estimated that the capacity of the Batutegi Dam and Way Sekampung Dam to irrigate the planting area until December 2026 can reach 32,676 hectares with several provisions,” said the Head of the Mesuji Sekampung River Basin Authority, Elroy Koyari, in Bandar Lampung on Saturday.

He explained that these provisions include the existing two-season planting area of 4,192 hectares, with a raw water requirement of 950 litres per second.

“The planting area irrigated by the Batutegi Dam and Way Sekampung Dam can help anticipate the impacts of El Niño. Meanwhile, the estimated water availability at the Batutegi Dam until December 2026 can irrigate an area of up to 28,533 hectares,” he said.

“From all these calculations, there is a remaining volume of 379.49 million cubic metres divided by the water requirement per hectare of 0.0133 cubic metres. This results in an irrigable area of 28,533 hectares,” he added.

It is known that the elevation and volume data for each dam include, for the Batutegi Dam, a normal water level (NWL) of 274 metres, normal storage volume of 687.76 million cubic metres, elevation of 262.71 metres, and storage volume of 476.15 million cubic metres.

The service area for agricultural land is 66,573 hectares, raw water needs of 2,250 litres per second, and utilisation for a Hydropower Plant (PLTA) of 29.76 Megawatts.

Then, the service area for agricultural land is 55,373 hectares, for raw water fulfilment of 100 litres per second, and fulfilment for PLTA of 5.4 Megawatts.