Semarang sinking deeper into the sea

By Haryoso

SEMARANG (JP): Saltwater is invading 500 hectares of residential and business areas in the northern and eastern coastal subdistricts of Semarang.

In the worst hit places, the water level reaches as high as 50 centimeters during high tide, usually during the night. Residents say the flooding has been going on for five years in some of the worst affected areas, with the government doing little to help.

During the current rainy season, more and more homes, schools, offices, places of worship and streets are being inundated. During the nighttime high tides, the salt water sneaks into people's bedrooms, stays in their living rooms and soaks their kitchens.

Residents have reported skin rashes and gastric problems, as the brackish water has turned packed residential areas into unhealthy swamps, where foul odors are commonplace and clean water is scarce.

Experts blame the uncontrolled exploitation of groundwater, which caused the ground level to drop, for the flooding.

The affected residents are low-income people who cannot afford to move to higher ground, especially during the present economic crisis.

Suratman, a resident on Jl. Purnasari, north Semarang, says he has been fighting a losing war against the intruding water for five years.

He has raised the floor of his 100 square meter house many times over the last five years, but his efforts have been futile because the water level also keeps rising.

"I have raised my floor by 40 centimeters and people in the village have increased the road level by 50 centimeters, but the water is getting higher very fast. Our money has gone down the drain," said the blue-collar worker and father of five.

Masrukah, a 45-year-old food vendor in northern Semarang is in the same situation. Her house has been flooded with stinky black water many times. The first incident occurred two years ago and it has been getting worsen since.

"The water usually appears in the morning and leaves in the evening," she says. "Very often, it comes at night. When it rains, we can hardly sleep for that our house will be washed away."

When it rains hard at night, she often takes her small children to a relative's house in a different area of the city, anticipating the worst.

Like other affected residents, Masrukah complains of the government's inaction in dealing with the worsening problem.

"Officials have promised to help us get rid of the salty water, but so far nothing has happened," she says.

The flooding has also affected several schools in the northern and eastern coastal areas.

Muktiharjo Elementary School in east Semarang has been continually flooded over the past few months. In the schoolyard, water is ankle high, and on rainy days water inundates the classrooms.

When the water level in the class rooms reach 40 centimeters or above, classes are canceled. If the flooding lasts for a few days, classes will be temporarily moved to nearby residents' homes.

"Last year, the flooding forced us to conduct the national examination at the residents' homes," says school teacher Sukemi, noting that this year the water enters classrooms more often than it did last year.

When school is not in session, many children play and catch fish in the water that floods the schoolyard.

In Tambakrejo, a public cemetery has been inundated for most of the current rainy season. Once acclaimed for its cleanliness and shade trees, the three-hectare cemetery is now an eerie sight, with muddy earth, dying trees and the tops of tombstones protruding from the water.

"On holidays, the cemetery often turns into a fishing ground," says Ramijan, a local who oversees the cemetery.

Due to a lack of space in the city, the cemetery is still being used, with about six bodies buried there every month, according to Ramijan.

The problem is, he says, grave diggers will not dig deep enough holes, so the corpses will float away. It has happened that decomposed bodies have been unburied when the cemetery flooded, spreading a putrid odor.

Annurrofiq, an ecologist at the University of Diponegoro who has conducted research on the rising seawater in Semarang, says that uncontrolled deep wells are to blame for the flooding.

He proposes that the local government to tighten the licensing procedures for the use of groundwater by hotels and factories in the city.

Semarang mayor Soetrisno Soeharto has said that the local government plans to build four water-pumping stations and two reservoirs in Tawang, eastern Semarang, and Bulu, northern Semarang, with assistance from the Japanese government.

The government also plans to relocate residents in affected areas.

The projects are expected to be completed by the year 2000. Until then, the residents will have to bear the difficulties brought by the intruding sea water.