Major reservoirs face water crisis

JATILUHUR (JP): The current prolonged draught has caused a sharp drop in water levels in the Jatiluhur, Cirata and Saguling reservoirs.

The crisis is feared to worsen if rains do not fall next month.

In mid-November, the water level of Jatiluhur was only 3.3 meters from its lowest permissible level while that of Cirata and Saguling was 2,9 and 2.7 meters, respectively.

Water from the dams are mainly used for irrigation purposes in most of West Java's rice fields.

Tukul Santoso of the Jatiluhur Water Management company said water supplies from the Citarum river to the three reservoirs have dropped to only 41.51 cubic meters per second or 24 percent of the normal flow, the Antara news agency reported.

Tukul said he has asked the ministry of public works to make induce artificial rains for the area. (pwn)