Crop failure looms as rivers run dry in Tangerang, Bogor

Crop failure looms as rivers run dry in Tangerang, Bogor

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Tangerang/Bogor

With no relief in sight, the reoccurring problem of drought in
the dry season is again threatening water supplies and farmers
crops in Greater Jakarta, local officials said.

Farmers in Tangerang and Bogor were facing crop failure as
river levels in the area dropped, they said. The rivers are used
to irrigate thousands of hectares of farmland.

Many tap water customers in the capital, meanwhile, are likely
to face further supply shortages, as the rivers also supply raw
water to water companies.

The Tangerang Water Resources Management Agency (BPSDA)
coordinator said some 30,000 hectares of farmland in the area
could be ruined, because of a shortage of water from the Cisadane
and Cidurian rivers.

Suparno, told The Jakarta Post the Cisadane river supplied
water to 13,000 hectares of paddy fields and 8,752 hectares of
vegetable fields, while the Cidurian watered 12,000 hectares of
paddy fields.

Water flow in the Cisadane was usually measured at between
42,000 and 50,000 liters per second (l/s) in the wet season,
while in the Cidurian, it was normally between 18,000 and 25,000
l/s, he said.

"But since Aug. 10, the flow had drastically dropped to 7,900
l/s at Cisadane and 4,000 l/s at Cidurian," he said.

Suparno said water flows below the 4,000 l/s mark would mean
disturbances in water supplies for industrial firms and tap water
companies.

The water table at the Cisadane River, meanwhile, had reduced
from 12.15 meters to 10.45 meters, and from 7.45 meters to 5.15
at the Cidurian River.

"The condition is due to a lack of water supply from the
rivers' upstream in Bogor," he said.

If conditions in the two rivers persisted, the administration
would have to resort to rationing water to farmlands to ensure
all districts received equal water supplies, Suparno said.

Since early August, the water flow from the Katulampa
floodgate in Bogor has dropped to 1,800 l/s, from the 5,000 to
8,000 l/s during the rainy season. The Kali Baru irrigation
channel gets its water supply from Katulampa.

Katulampa floodgate officer Andi Sudirman told the Post that
with such levels, farmers in the Cibinong and Cimanggis area
would likely face water shortages.

"Last week, some 15 farmers came all the way from Cibinong to
check the floodgate's water flow, because their paddy fields had
begun to dry up," Andi said. She predicted the drought would
likely drag on until September.

In Jakarta, officials of tap water companies PT PAM Lyonnaise
Jaya (Palyja) and PT Thames PAM Jaya (TPJ) said their main raw
water supply from the Kali Malang river had decreased lately,
affecting their ability to produce and distribute a sufficient
supply of water to their customers.

Palyja needs 5,400 l/s for its plant in Pejompongan, while TPJ
needs 4,400 l/s for its plant in Pulo Gadung and 5,300 l/s for
its Buaran plant. The river's flow has decreased to around 4,000
to 5,000 l/s lately.

Water companies said they had prepared emergency container
trucks to service customers' daily water needs during any
shortage.

The delivery service, however, would be prioritized for
hospitals, and responses to requests would be coordinated to
prevent any misuse of the resource, they said.