Residents Say Flooding in Citra Prima Serpong Began After Housing Development

SOUTH TANGERANG, KOMPAS.com - Residents of Citra Prima Serpong, Kranggan, Setu, South Tangerang, claim that flooding in their area began after the development of housing on land that was previously a water absorption area.

Chairman of RW 06 Kranggan, Yahya Sunarja, stated that before the housing development, the area never experienced flooding.

“If this housing estate started in 2009. And before the Serpong Lagoon housing was built, there was no flooding. Back then, that area (the land in Serpong Lagoon) was like a lake, so there was never any flooding here,” Yahya said when met by Kompas.com in Citra Prima Serpong on Wednesday (15/4/2026).

At that time, flooding began to submerge the Citra Prima Serpong area up to two metres, even though the rain lasted only a short time. The receding time was also longer compared to now.

He explained that this condition occurred before the construction of the retaining wall and the installation of two water pumps, which now allow puddles to recede in about one day.

“At that time, before this retaining wall was built, the height was almost the same as this (two metres). But back then, it took longer to recede compared to now, which already has this retaining wall,” he clarified.

Every time flooding occurs, around 30 households or 150 people are affected. This situation often forces residents to evacuate to safer places.

“Yes, evacuating, to the community hall, posyandu, or to neighbours’ houses,” said Yahya.

The recurring floods cause losses, from house damage to furniture that cannot be used again. This condition has led some residents to choose to move, either temporarily or permanently.

Furthermore, Yahya explained that previously the South Tangerang City Government (Pemkot Tangsel) had built a retaining wall and installed water pumps at the location around January 2026 to reduce the flood impact.

However, according to him, these efforts have not been fully effective.

“Now it’s faster to recede because of the pumps, but the flooding still happens,” he said.

He assessed that the main cause of the flooding is the narrowing and shallowing of the river in the area.