La Nina, poor use of land complicate flood problems

La Nina, poor use of land complicate flood problems

By M.M.I Ahyani

BANDUNG (JP): Many regions in Indonesia, especially its urban
centers, are suffering from the -- somewhat ironic -- problem of
floods during the rainy season and a constant shortage of clean
water. Experts are blaming it on poor water management and
thoughtless land development.

Jakarta and surrounding areas, and nearby Bandung, are prime
examples of this problem. Even one day of rain can cause flooding
in these cities, while several sunny days often mean dry wells.

The latest flood to hit Bandung occurred two days before
Christmas last year. At least 5,000 homes and thousands of
hectares of farmland were flooded after the Citarum River and a
number of streams breached their banks.

The common feature of those cities is the lack of water
catchment areas due to poor land use, low absorption of ground
water and saltwater intrusion, especially so in Jakarta. Proper
water management to sustain the natural hydrological cycle is
therefore the key to solve these problems.

In northern Bandung, for example, a huge area of land that
should have functioned as a water catchment area has been turned
into housing complexes.

Sri Legowo, an environment researcher and lecturer at the
Bandung Institute of Technology, says that just a small amount of
rain is now enough to cause floods in Bandung.

"Especially in southern Bandung, where rainwater cannot be
absorbed," Legowo said, "This is proof of how bad the condition
of the environment is here."

He cited poor planning and the fact that industrial and
housing complexes were often developed in areas that should have
been designated water catchment areas.

"It causes floods during the rain, and when it dries a bit,
it's hard to find clean water," he said.

It was of course almost impossible to return the already
developed areas to their original state, given the huge economic
and social costs. "It would be almost impossible to tear down
permanent housing complexes built on water catchment areas,"
Legowo said.

Floods are usually very bad in the area because Bandung lies
in the bottom of a huge bowl formed by the surrounding hills,
from which tributaries flow into Citarum River.

The same problem, he said, occurred in areas of Greater
Jakarta, such as around the upper end of Ciliwung River in Bogor,
which is already packed with buildings.

La Nina

Legowo said fears of floods were growing due to the impact of
the La Nina phenomenon. La Nina, which means "little sister",
arises from unusually cool temperatures in the Pacific ocean and
often follows the drought-inducing El Nino weather pattern.

Early last year, experts began to issue warnings about the
possibility of abnormal rains and heavy flooding across many
provinces as a result of the La Nina weather phenomenon.

In recent weeks, reports of flood casualties have streamed in,
with eight deaths recorded in Bengkulu and a further seven in
Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi. In Bali, 40 people were buried
alive in a landslide that hit Gianyar following heavy rains.

Experts have warned that 13 of Indonesia's 27 provinces were
particularly vulnerable to La Nina-induced flooding. The
provinces were Lampung, Riau, South Sumatra, Bengkulu, West Java,
Jakarta, Central Java, East Java, Yogyakarta, Bali, West Nusa
Tenggara, South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.

The government has admitted that established flood control
projects cover less than 10 percent of areas thought to be
vulnerable to flooding.

Embung

Legowo mentioned poor environmental management as a major
problem, and pointed to the fact that land use in Bandung often
violated zoning regulations.

Various proposals to curb the problem have emerged, including
the development of embung, small dams which function as water
flow controllers in order to reduce water volume downstream.

Minister of Public Works Rahmadi B.S. has welcomed the idea.
Around 220 embung must be built to prevent flooding in Bandung
and Greater Jakarta areas, according to Legowo.

Legowo said if embung were built in appropriate places, it
would reduce by 80 percent the water flow in southern Bandung.

"Actually, an embung works with a similar principle as a dam,
but it is much smaller. When the water volume is low, the water
retained in it could easily be let out," Legowo explained.

The use of embung is not new, as residents of Lombok, West
Nusa Tenggara, implemented it a long time ago, he said. The
regencies of Central and South Lombok, which often face critical
water problems, have used the system to support the kampongs'
water supply when it is low.

The only problem for embung to be built is that each
construction, measuring one square kilometer and with a capacity
of two million cubic meters of water, will cost about Rp 2
billion. This figure does not include the cost of the land
itself.

The huge waste is evident when it can be seen that by building
such embung, the areas in Bandung are merely reverted to
something resembling their original state, in which water flowed
into small natural lakes.

In Greater Jakarta alone, the 164 original situ, or water
reservoirs, were either damaged or abandoned, and some were
developed into housing complexes.

According to Yusron Lubis, the coordinator of a group
researching water resources at the ministry of public works, the
main problem is choosing a site for the embung.

"The biggest issue is the funds needed to buy back the land.
Most of the water reservoirs here, which are supposed to function
as natural flood controllers, have been turned into various
constructions," he said.

The problems delayed any campaign to build embung in various
flood-prone areas. "Actually it is very effective in preventing
floods ... a dam could last for 100 years, while embung for about
50 years," Yusron added.