Drought Causes Drastic Drop in Water Discharge at Cihea Irrigation Weir

The water discharge at the Cihea Irrigation Weir in Sukarama Village, Bojongpicung District, Cianjur Regency, has dropped drastically due to the prolonged dry season. The current discharge is recorded at 3,400 litres per second, significantly below the normal level of 7,000 litres per second.

Ervin Kristian, an irrigation official from the Citarum River Basin Agency (BBWS) of the West Java Water Resources Department, stated that the sharp decline is a result of consecutive days without rain over the past several months. The decrease has been gradual, reaching its peak in the last two weeks. “The water discharge has indeed fallen drastically. It is now below the normal threshold,” Ervin said on Wednesday.

The Cihea Irrigation Weir supplies water to nearly 5,484 hectares of agricultural land. Ervin noted that while the overall supply is still relatively safe, some areas are vulnerable, particularly villages located at the downstream end in Ciranjang District.

To ensure that rice fields continue to receive water, authorities have implemented a rotational irrigation schedule agreed upon by all stakeholders. The rotation is carried out every two days, with an exception on Fridays when no rotation is enforced. Additionally, efforts are underway to regulate water extraction in upstream areas, as excessive siphoning negatively impacts supply to downstream regions. “We are currently cracking down on this to ensure water reaches the downstream areas,” Ervin added.

Ervin could not predict how long the rotational irrigation measures would remain in place, stating that they would continue until water discharge returns to normal levels. Field supervision is being conducted in collaboration with the P3A Mitra Cai water user association, farmer groups, and other stakeholders.