Flood prevention projects fail to control floods

Flood prevention projects fail to control floods

It is almost certain that tens of thousands of people -- or maybe
even more -- in the city will be affected by floods in the coming
rainy season, as the flood prevention projects being implemented
by the city administration will not significantly reduce the
number of areas prone to flooding.

Suena, Head of the Public Works Agency IGKG, has said that 34
districts throughout the five municipalities in the city are
prone to annual flooding, which comprises a total of 78 areas
spanning 66 subdistricts.

He added that the flood prevention projects which have been
implemented by his agency could only resolve floods in five
areas, which means that people living in the 73 remaining areas
should prepare for flooding during the rainy season.

According to Suena, the flood prediction in the 73 areas is
based on normal conditions of rainfall. If the average rainfall
during the coming rainy season is higher than normal, as it was
this past January, more areas would be inundated.

The cumulative rainfall at the peak of the rainy season in
Jakarta normally measures about 400 millimeters (mm). The
Meteorological and Geophysical Agency (BMG) said that in January
and February of this year, the cumulative rainfall reached 600
mm, and further predicted that the cumulative rainfall for the
coming rainy season in December and January will be about 500 mm.

The routine budget allocated by the city administration for
flood prevention projects is Rp 62.98 billion. In addition, the
City Public Works Agency received Rp 224 billion, while an
additional amount of Rp 49.5 billion was allocated towards
clearing land for the Eastern Flood Canal, and another Rp 58.45
billion was provided for projects handled by the Public Works
offices of the five districts.

Wishnu S. Yusuf, head of the Water Resources Division of the
City Public Works Agency, said that the agency has 13 flood
prevention projects financed by the 2002 city budget.

However, he said that eight of the projects would not be
completed this year because some parts of the projects should be
funded by the 2003 city budget.

The 13 flood prevention projects being implemented by the
Public Works Agency are located in: Serdang, Kebon Kacang, Rawa
Buaya, Pluit, Kapuk Kamal, Angke, Bukit Duri, Gunung Sahari,
Mangga Besar, Pasar Jumat, Tanjung Duren, Kelapa Gading, and
Cempaka Putih. The flood prevention projects include dredging
rivers and canals, repairing flood gates and water pumping
stations, and removing garbage from rivers.

It has been said that Cempaka Putih, Serdang, Sumur Batu,
Sunter Jaya, and Pasar Jumat are five areas which may be freed
from next year's floods.

In response to comments on the sluggish process of the flood
prevention projects, Suena said that there were a number of
procedural problems: first, the 2002 Budget was approved by the
City Council in late January, not early January as planned; and
second, the floods which occurred in January and February have
caused many officials in his agency to concentrate on how to help
the flood victims instead of on preventative measures.

Finally, according to Suena, the tender of the projects was
implemented around March and April, then took another three
months to process, so the projects were implemented around July
and August.

"The procedures were unavoidable. I also wish that the
projects could have been realized immediately," Suena said.

He added that the city's gubernatorial and vice gubernatorial
elections had also affected the implementation of the flood
prevention projects, because it absorbed the concentration of
city officials.

"During the period, the governor and many officials were quite
busy, while we needed to coordinate with other institutions and
also with the governor," he said. -- Bambang Nurbianto