Tangerang to control groundwater usage

Tangerang to control groundwater usage

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang

The Tangerang regency administration will be the first
administration to control groundwater usage at industrial plants
and residential areas,the exploitation of which has caused land
subsidence and seawater intrusion.

Head of the Tangerang environmental impact management agency
Deden Sugandhi said the administration had installed an automatic
water level recording (AWRL) device designed by the Bandung
Institute of Technology (ITB).

"We started to use the devise last month," he told The Jakarta
Post on Wednesday.

The transmitters were installed to record groundwater levels
at several wells in Bintaro, Serpong and Pasar Kemis districts.

The data will be transmitted via satellite to the monitoring
computer screen at the environmental management agency office.

Deden said all industrial firms that have secured groundwater
use permits will have their wells numbered for easy control.

"If the graph on the screen shows a vertical line, it means
that the usage of groundwater is high. If the users have
increased the capacity of the water pumps, officials will call
them up and warn them to halt usage for a while," he said.

Deden revealed that the agency will use more sophisticated
technology in the near future.

"With the new technology, we can order the users to stop using
the wells directly from the office if the companies use excessive
groundwater."

He added the office had recorded an excessive use of
groundwater in Pasar Kemis district, but did not say whether the
office had asked the users to stop taking water from the wells.

"Any firm that intends to extend their permits for groundwater
usage must first equip their wells with the device to enable us
to monitor them around the clock," Deden said.