Expert: Batanghari River Needs Engineering to Curb Sedimentation

Jambi (ANTARA) — University of Jambi (Unja) Professor of Hydrology and Watershed Management Aswandi Idris says the Batanghari River needs engineering measures to curb the silting caused by accumulated soil and mud.

“Over time, the Batanghari will become a dead river. In the 1880s and into the early 20th century, large vessels could travel from upstream areas such as Tebo to Sabak downstream. Now, even small motorised boats struggle to pass, let alone large ships,” he said in Jambi on Saturday.

He said the problems affecting the Batanghari River had reached a level that posed a serious threat to the survival of its aquatic life.

Sedimentation along the river, he said, had begun to alter its natural morphology and anatomy.

He explained that the high sedimentation rate was partly driven by land clearing upstream on a scale far beyond the environment’s carrying capacity.

If left unchecked, the Batanghari could lose its flow capacity, leading to increasingly severe silting, he said.

Data show that forest cover along Sumatra’s longest river has shrunk by nearly 30 per cent. As a result, erosion has increased fivefold over the past 60 years, while the river’s sediment load has risen 15-fold.

Research estimates put the river’s sediment volume at 0.18 million tonnes a year in 1932. By 2026, the rate of silting is projected to approach 2.8 million tonnes a year.

As a long-term mitigation measure, the relevant parties should promote structured river training, particularly in urban areas such as Jambi city, he said.

Such engineering is important to keep the flow concentrated towards the riverbed, allowing sediment to be scoured naturally.

Beyond hydrological and engineering concerns, he also called attention to transport policy, saying it should give greater consideration to waterways rather than relying predominantly on land transport.

He said river transport in Jambi could be highly efficient in terms of cargo tonnage if managed properly, particularly as road freight loads often exceed the roads’ capacity.

“Everything is being put on the roads now. Can they cope? There has been discussion of moving freight by sea or river: one barge can carry 150 to 200 containers. If everything goes by road, our roads will be destroyed,” Aswandi said.