City to add clout to catchment ruling
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)