Semarang City Government Prepares 1 Million Litres of Clean Water to Face El Niño
The Semarang City Government is ready to distribute 1 million litres of clean water to families affected by drought. This is an effort to prevent the impacts of the prolonged dry season due to El Niño.
This preparedness is emphasised as part of drought disaster mitigation in Semarang City, which is estimated to peak until September 2026. Residents are urged to increase vigilance against increasingly unpredictable weather changes.
Semarang Mayor Agustina Wilujeng stated that in handling this, cross-agency collaboration will be carried out, including with the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) and the Regional Drinking Water Company (PDAM).
“Hopefully, as soon as we hear of a water shortage, we can prepare the water,” said Agustina in a written statement on Thursday (9/4/2026).
She said that extreme weather changes have begun to be felt by the community, where temperatures have increased significantly. This condition is expected to continue until the peak of the dry season.
Agustina stated that the community needs to be more aware of potential risks, including the danger of fires due to dry leaves and strong winds that can accelerate the spread of fire.
“So the community must be aware. Even though sometimes people assume this is unpredictable weather, but it’s clear that we must take care,” she said.
Semarang City has a combination of hilly areas, valleys, rivers, to sea coasts, which is said to increase disaster risk potential if not anticipated properly.
Meanwhile, the Head of Semarang City BPBD, Endro Pudyo Martantono, stated that the weather pattern in 2026 is considered more extreme compared to the previous year. Drastic temperature changes to sudden rain accompanied by strong winds are phenomena that need to be wary of.
“If we compare with 2025, 2026 is relatively phenomenal. This is hot weather, then suddenly in the afternoon or evening heavy rain accompanied by strong winds,” he explained.
Based on notifications from BMKG, it is mentioned that the start of the dry season is estimated to begin in May, although until April there is still potential for rain and strong winds.
As a concrete step, Semarang City BPBD has prepared a reserve of 1 million litres of clean water that will be distributed according to requests from residents in affected areas.
“Whenever residents request, wherever it is, we will send it according to the residents’ requests,” said Endro.
The phenomenon of increasing hot temperatures is explained to occur due to the sun’s position approaching the equator line and reduced cloud cover, so heat exposure becomes more intense in the Semarang area.
Based on mapping of disaster-prone areas (KRB), the Rowosari area is still the top priority in handling drought. The difficult geographical conditions to reach with clean water networks become the main obstacle.
It is mentioned that efforts to drill deep wells in the area did not produce clean water, but gas, so water tanker distribution becomes the main solution.
“Rowosari is still the first priority. The obstacle there is that PDAM cannot yet enter,” he revealed.
Besides Rowosari, other areas such as Wonosari (Ngaliyan) and parts of Gunungpati are also in the vulnerable category, although some have begun to be reached by PDAM pipelining networks.
Mitigation efforts are said to continue to minimise the impact of drought disasters so they do not recur and spread. The local government urges the community to actively participate in preserving the environment and saving water usage.
“With logistical preparedness and cross-sector coordination, it is hoped that the impact of El Niño in Semarang City can be minimised as much as possible, especially for residents in areas that have previously experienced difficulties in accessing clean water,” he concluded.