City to add clout to catchment ruling

JAKARTA (JP): A gubernatorial decree obliging public and private building owners to construct water catchment wells will be converted into a provincial decree.

"The law will be strengthened when the obligation becomes a provincial decree," Prawoto S. Danoemihardjo, an assistant to the city secretary said after opening a one-day seminar on floods yesterday.

Until now, those violating the gubernatorial decree usually received administrative punishments, such as the revocation of their building permits. Violating a provincial decree, however, is a more serious matter.

Prawoto did not say when the provincial decree would replace the gubernatorial decree, or if the plan had the City Council's approval.

A gubernatorial decree, issued in 1992, states that for every 100 square meters of roof space, a building must have a catchment well with a capacity of between three to five cubic meters.

"The more that Jakartans build such wells to catch rainwater, the better we will be able to prevent floods," he said at the seminar organized by the Netherlands' Alumni Association. "I have one at home myself," he added.

"The city administration has already set an example, with 432 wells around government offices and state schools," Prawoto said.

The same amount of catchment wells was recorded by the city's mining agency last year.

Last year, the city's environment office estimated that only 1,000 houses in the capital had catchment wells. As of the middle of last year, figures at the city's development supervision agency indicated that 16,766 permits had been issued.

Prawoto said that the number of wells should equal the number of applications for building permits, as required by the gubernatorial decree.

Groundwater

Prawoto complained about the over exploitation of groundwater. He said the revenue the city acquired from the monthly fees collected from owners of artesian wells must not be regarded as beneficial because excessive use of groundwater causes environmental damage.

Groundwater exploitation has gradually caused a drop in the land surface, particularly in areas close to the coast, he said. He cited earlier findings by the development supervision agency that the land surface in several areas in North Jakarta has dropped by at least 80 centimeters in 10 years.

Meanwhile, Siswoko, the city's project officer for the Ciliwung and Cisadane river area development, said that the administration is not yet capable of preventing floods in the area.

Siswoko held up a copy of one of several real estate advertisements claiming that certain sites are "flood free", even though it was located within an area which is known for flooding. Jakarta has about 24,000 hectares of flood-prone areas, or 40 percent of the city's total area.

"The flood-free claims should be clarified," Siswoko said.

Other speakers addressing the seminar included environmental law expert Koesnadi Hardjasoemantri, who explained the legal aspects of curbing development in Puncak, one of the city's water catchments. (anr)