Small lakes latest idea to combat Jakarta's floods

Small lakes latest idea to combat Jakarta's floods

BOGOR, West Java (JP): The latest flood prevention suggestion
is to build small lakes in the city, a Bogor expert said.

A. Sjarifuddin Karama, director of Bogor's Land and
Agroclimate Research Center, said recently the building of small
lakes in Jakarta should be added to flood prevention measures.

Ongoing efforts are replanting or regreening, digging
catchment wells and dredging rivers in and around Jakarta.

He said the lakes could not possibly retain all the rainwater,
but the run-off could be diverted to rivers.

Sjarifuddin said it was possible to build lakes in crowded
Jakarta.

"Jakarta still has 6,000 hectares of paddy fields," he said.
Unproductive rice fields could be converted into ponds
cultivating fish and the kangkung vegetable. Other vegetables and
fruit trees could be planted on surrounding land, he said.

Sjarifuddin said the Land and Agroclimate Research Center had
prepared five hectares in Sukapura, Jakarta, to test a pond
project.

Small lakes were not expensive to build, he said.

On a 100-hectare plot, the cost should not exceed Rp 2
billion, he said.

"What's more, if we can, we will get local farmers to join us.
They will be paid an incentive of Rp 2 million, for instance, to
make a small lake. Maybe we can keep total costs at Rp 1
billion," he said.

Sjarifuddin said he tried a similar project on five hectares,
which cost less than Rp 6 million.

Small lakes could be dug manually without heavy construction
equipment and the lakes would not need complicated maintenance,
he said.

He suggested the lakes be 200 square meters wide, with a depth
of three to four meters. Sjarifuddin could not say how many lakes
should be built.

Earlier Siswoko, an official in charge of a river improvement
project under the Ministry of Public Works, said the city's flood
control measures were unable to keep up with unchecked
construction activity along river basin areas in West Java.

He said construction may not be avoidable, given the need for
more houses, but developers should observe environmental
regulations. These include checking sites to see whether they
were likely to flood, retaining and creating water catchment
sites including lakes.

Siswoko's office of the Ciliwung-Cisadane river improvement
project, is also in charge of rehabilitating lakes in Jakarta's
surrounding areas. He said around 70 percent of lakes have been
lost to construction works or neglect, with former lakes being
covered by plants or waste.

Sjarifuddin said 221 lakes were built by the Dutch colonial
government in the 19th century because a large section of the
city was lowland and vulnerable to floods.

Lakes were built in Cisarua, Ciawi, Bogor, and Depok, and even
in the heart of Jakarta. After they were built, floods decreased
for a long time, Sjarifuddin said.

Members of the Jakarta city council earlier quoted 1994
figures on the decreasing lake area around the city, though they
did not mention the specific time frame.

The Indonesian Democratic Party faction said lakes in Bogor,
Tangerang and Bekasi reduced drastically from 2,049 hectares to
1,294 hectares in the last six years.

The faction supported earlier suggestions from former
environment minister Emil Salim, that Jabotabek -- Jakarta,
Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi, should be grouped under one
authority to ensure an integrated development plan.

A land and water conservation expert, Oteng Haridjaya, at the
Bogor Agriculture Institute, also supported the idea.

He said from 1981 to 1990, 4,353 hectares of forest around
Bogor was cut down to 3,361 hectares, enlarging the residential
area from 770 hectares to 2,008 hectares.

"We got the information in 1990. Construction proceeded
rapidly from 1990," Oteng said.

Data from the Forestry Services and the Bogor Land
Conservation, revealed more than 19,000 hectares around the
upstream areas of the Ciliwung, Cisadane, Cidurian and the Bekasi
rivers, were in a critical condition, Oteng said. (24)