Ground in North Jakarta gradually subsiding
Ground in North Jakarta gradually subsiding
JAKARTA (JP): The ground in North Jakarta is subsiding and will drop by as much as four meters in the next three decades if the current groundwater exploitation is not properly controlled, according to a government official.
Soeparmono, director general of water resources development at the Ministry of Public Works said yesterday that the calamity will take place if the excessive use of groundwater by households and industries is not controlled, Antara reported.
"Some areas around Jl. RE Martadinata and Penjaringan have subsided by between 70 cm and one meter," Soeparmono told reporters after opening a seminar on the use of water resources yesterday.
He said that by 2025 ground level subsidence would endanger multi-story buildings, roads and bridges in the area.
Soeparmono did not say if similar circumstances would also happen in other mayoralties. He did not compare the use of groundwater in each mayoralty.
Some years ago the Ministry of Public Works announced that groundwater exploitation had also caused Jl. Gunung Sahari in Central Jakarta and the main thoroughfares Jl. MH Thamrin and Jl. Jend. Sudirman to gradually subside.
Without revealing the exact data, Soeparmono said that groundwater has been exploited excessively in North Jakarta. He predicted that groundwater use will still be high in 30 years time due to continuing high demand in the capital city, whereas the capacity of the Ciliwung and Cisadane rivers, which supply water to Jakarta residents, is limited.
The Ciliwung river now supplies 10 cubic meters of water per second to greater Jakarta areas, while the demand is now 30 cubic meters per second.
"By 2025 the demand for water is projected to reach 70 cubic meters per second," Soeparmono said.
The only way to reduce the excessive use of groundwater is to supply more water to the residents. "Water from the Karyan reservoir, which holds the water from the Cidurian and Citarum rivers in West Java, will be supplied to Jakarta via the Kali Malang canal," he said.
Jakarta gets most of its water from the multi-purpose Juanda dam in West Java. Some additional water for Jakarta comes from the Cisadane river, also in West Java.
In an effort to preserve the groundwater, Soeparmono called on the city administration to be tougher on highrise buildings which have been using abundant groundwater.
The seminar was sponsored by the Ministry of Public Works, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the Indonesian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage.
It also discussed the preventative steps that could be taken to stop land subsidence due to groundwater exploitation. (sur)