Salt water enters Semarang
SEMARANG, Central Java: Loss of mangroves, rampant sand quarrying and excessive ground water exploitation have caused sea water to intrude deep into the capital city, an academic said on Saturday.
"In some areas near the coast, the ground water is too salty to consume," head of the Center for Environmental Research at the University of Diponegoro, Sudharto P. Hadi, said.
He warned that the intrusion of sea water would worsen unless the local government moved to control exploitation of ground water, especially by industry.
He said salt water had penetrated as far as five kilometers into the city, Antara reported. (rms)