Pasanggrahan flooding due to bottlenecks

Pasanggrahan flooding due to bottlenecks

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Pasanggrahan is one of the three major rivers in the capital
causing the regular floods that plague the city. When the
Cipinang River overflows it causes flooding in eastern Jakarta,
while the Ciliwung River is responsible for floods in Central
Jakarta. And Pasanggrahan River is to blame for flooding in the
western part of the city.

Pasanggrahan River, which originates in Bogor regency, flows
to the Java Sea through several subdistricts in South and West
Jakarta, including Tanah Kusir, Bintaro, Pondok Pinang, Cipulir,
Meruya, Kebon Jeruk, Kembangan, Kedoya and Pedongkelan.

"During the latest flooding in January, the floodwater reached
up to 1.5 meters in height on adjacent roads and nearly all the
houses along the river were inundated," Subianto, 30, a vendor in
Cipulir market in South Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post on
Wednesday.

Other traders in the market said flooding occurred nearly
every year, though not usually as severe as the floods of last
January and February.

As with the other rivers in the city, the flooding along the
Pasanggrahan River is not only the result of local rainfall.
Large downpours along the upper course of the river in Bogor and
Depok also spells trouble for people living near the river.

"It is common for the river to overflow and for water to
inundate the roads even though there hasn't been any rain here.
If the rain in Bogor and Depok is heavy, the water rises very
fast," said Pujiono, another trader in Cipulir market.

The upper course of the Pasanggrahan is in the Cilebut
subdistrict in Bogor. From there the river flows to Jakarta,
passing through Citayam, Cipayung, Sawangan and Cinere.

The quality of the water consistently declines as it moves
downstream. In Cipulir, the color of the water is yellowish
because of mineral deposits in the river. But in Kembangan, the
water turns black from household and industrial waste.

Suwardi, who lives on Jl. Daan Mogot, said residents in the
area often complained of the noxious smell of the river. "The bad
smell is really a nuisance," Suwardi told the Post.

But the water quality in the river is not as bad as other
rivers in the city, including the Ciliwung and Cipinang. This is
because fewer people live along the banks of the Pasanggrahan.

Along more crowded riversides, such as the Ciliwung, household
trash dumped into the rivers is a major cause of the routine
floods.

But there are also a number of bottlenecks that obstruct the
flow of the Pasanggrahan, causing flooding during the rainy
season.

In Cipulir, one of most populated areas along the river, there
are a number of areas that have been narrowed by a build-up of
sediment and the illegal buildings that occupy parts of the
river.

The walls of some buildings and fences in the Cipulir market
bordered directly on the Pasanggrahan River. This has created
bottlenecks that disrupt the river's flow.

According to a study carried out by Netherlands Engineering
Consultants in June this year, a number of significant
obstructions to the river's flow are caused by bridges that were
built too low.

The Bintaro Raya and Cipulir bridges are just two examples.
The bridges not only obstruct the flow of the water, but they
also catch all kinds of rubbish -- from households and industrial
operations -- which aggravates the bottlenecks.