People see newfound hope as Germany provides water
People see newfound hope as Germany provides water
Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
Drought, which often leads to a water crisis, has been an annual
problem for about 132,000 residents in Gunung Kidul regency,
Yogyakarta.
In the beginning of the dry season, it is common to see people
forming a long queue at lakes in the regency. When the dry season
gets worse, people get desperate and sell their valuables such as
cows, goats or trees to purchase water.
As many people sell their valuables, especially cattle, to buy
water during the peak of the dry season, local residents often
jokingly say "drinking cows" or "drinking goats" when they drink
the water.
Fortunately, Gunung Kidul residents now see light at the end
of the tunnel. Government workers have been digging for several
months on a spot of land in Bribin area, Gunung Kidul, where an
underground river is located and have now reached the surface of
an underground river, some 100 meters below the surface.
After the successful digging project, the workers have just
started to build an underground dam to store water from the
river. The small dam is slated to be completed next month.
The Rp 6 billion (US$666,666) dam will be able to accommodate
210 liters of water per second. The water debit in the river
reaches 2,000 liters per second in the dry season and 4,000
liters per second in the rainy season. The dam is expected to be
able to meet the water needs of the 132,625 people living in
Gunung Kidul regency.
The head of the Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Office
at the Yogyakarta administration, Tri Harjun Ismail, said that
the workers had dug 100 meters deep and 2.4 meters wide. The
digging started in July last year and was completed recently.
After completing the digging project, the workers will later
build an underground dam, which will be completed in April this
year.
"Then, the next step is to set up an electricity turbine, that
can bring the water up to the surface," said Harjun, adding that
the overall project will be completed in the next few months.
The project is a joint effort between the Indonesian
government, the German government and various universities in the
country. The dam itself will cost the state Rp 6 billion, while
the digging project cost Rp 70 billion.
The German Minister of Research and Education, Edelgard
Bulmahn, visited the area last week to observe the project. He
said that what the Indonesian government had done in Bribin could
be a model for similar projects in other places in the country.