Dredging of Kali Canal Stalled, Semper Timur Residents Fear Return of Floods

Residents of RW 03, Semper Timur, Cilincing, North Jakarta, fear the return of flooding because the dredging of canals in the area has not been continued.

RW 03 head of Semper Timur, Mamat, explained that the dredging carried out in early March 2026 only addressed part of the problem.

“The back section has been dredged and the impact is good. But the front section has not been worked on,” he told Kompas.com on Friday (27/3/2026).

Mamat said that several canal points, especially on Jalan Madya Kebantenan, where several companies park container trucks, have not been dredged. As a result, when it rains, water pools for quite a long time.

Because there are still canal points that have not been dredged, water flow becomes obstructed.

“The water meets at one point and just swirls around, it doesn’t flow out directly,” he said.

Mamat admitted that he has tried to communicate with the North Jakarta City Water Resources Sub-District Office (Sudin SDA) to urge dredging. However, his requests have not yet been realised.

“Our hope is that it should be done soon. Because this is a rain problem,” he added.

Kompas.com has attempted to seek a response from the Head of the North Jakarta SDA Sub-District Office, Heria Suwandi. However, as of this article’s publication, there has been no official response.

Previously reported, residents of RW 03, Semper Timur, Cilincing, North Jakarta, have urged the North Jakarta City Government (Pemkot) to promptly continue the canal dredging in their area, which is considered delayed.

Mamat said that dredging is necessary to smooth water flow so that pooling subsides quickly during rain.

“Our area is indeed prone to flooding, so water flow must be smooth. If not dredged, water has difficulty exiting,” he said when met by Kompas.com on Friday (27/3/2026).

However, up to now, dredging in other sections, especially near container parking companies, has not been continued.

He mentioned that the drainage conditions in the area are poor. This is due to canal silting, covered waterways, side channels that need dredging, relatively low roads that easily pool water, and rubbish from the temporary waste collection point (TPS) Budi Dharma that often gets carried into residential areas during floods.

“That’s why we keep pushing, we keep asking. Why? So that this problem can be resolved quickly. Because this issue isn’t just this year, but in previous years too,” he said.