BWS safeguards water resources to anticipate drought in East Kalimantan

Samarinda (ANTARA) - The Balai Wilayah Sungai (BWS) Kalimantan IV Samarinda is safeguarding water resource resilience as an effort to anticipate the threat of drought in East Kalimantan amid a long dry season or El Niño. “We are carrying out various efforts from empowering farmers to strict management of water infrastructure to face the predicted long dry season in 2026, forecast for June-August,” said the Head of the Operations and Maintenance Section of BWS Kalimantan IV Samarinda, Riz Anugerah, in Samarinda on Monday. Riz explained that although the dry conditions in 2023 were classified as severe, the drought duration in 2026 is estimated to be much longer, thus requiring extra preparedness. His side is now optimising farmer empowerment through Irrigation Commissions at the district and city levels to regulate safer planting patterns and harvest times for members of the Water User Farmer Associations (P3A). The utilisation of non-reservoir water sources such as boreholes, retention basins, and ponds is also a priority in distributing water supplies to drought-prone agricultural lands. BWS Kalimantan IV is integrating information technology to provide accurate drought prediction data so that farmers can make precise decisions regarding planting times. In terms of logistical support, BWS has prepared several heavy equipment items such as excavators, pump trucks, and dump trucks positioned at specific points like Samarinda, Balikpapan, North Penajam Paser, and Kutai Kartanegara. The management of large dams, including Sepaku Semoi Dam, Lempake Dam, Teritip Dam, and Manggar Dam, continues to be maximised with the primary priority as providers of raw water and irrigation facilities for the community. To ensure water availability until the end of the year, BWS recommends that PDAM reduce water extraction volume to 75% to anticipate drops in dam elevations as experienced by Lempake and Manggar Dams during the 2023 dry season. A total of 44 borehole points with depths reaching 100 metres have been prepared in various regions, from Kutai Kartanegara to Balikpapan, to access artesian water layers.