Semarang sinking deeper into the sea

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.