Trash-clogged rivers highlight lack of flood control measures

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city is not yet ready to tackle the serious flooding that has been predicted to hit Jakarta soon because it still lacks flood-control facilities, and by Friday its rivers and dams had not yet been cleared of garbage.

Huge amounts of garbage were seen on the surface of rivers, including at Rawa Kepa and Tomang, West Jakarta and Pluit, North Jakarta, as well as at river dams in the areas.

Head of the maintenance department of the City Public Works Agency Wishnu Soebagyo revealed that some 800 cubic meters of garbage were dumped by residents in the city's 13 rivers every day.

"We're facing great difficulty in removing the garbage from the rivers. We have insufficient funds and equipment," Wishnu told reporters.

He stated that the amount of garbage in the rivers had increased following the week-long closure of the city's main garbage dump at Bantar Gebang, Bekasi, last month.

Besides the garbage, the agency has also had to deal with thousands of slum dwellings erected alongside the riverbanks and dams. The width of rivers and dams has been reduced because of the thousands of makeshift buildings. "Those houses will be removed this year," an officer at Pluit water dam said.

But he added that the residents would certainly oppose eviction and would demand proper compensation, as they had lived there for years.

Almost all residents who live on the riverbanks and around the dams said that they did not know about the possible huge floods forecast for later this month.

They only know that the last huge flood happened in the fasting month of Ramadhan in 1996. "The flood reached the roof of my house at that time," Lina, a resident of Rawa Kepa, said.

The 83-year-old woman said the residents took refugee at a nearby elementary school building, which was located higher than their houses.

The dams in Rawa Kepa and Pluit are among the city's 12 water dams, which would be used to control the floods, especially in 72 flood-prone areas, before they reached the sea at North Jakarta.

The city has 139 water pumps, mostly old equipment, and 156 sluices to control water levels in the city.

Only the Cideng water pump in Central Jakarta, above the Cideng river, appeared to be ready. The computer-controlled facility is used to handle flooding in Central Jakarta, including the area around the State Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara, Central Jakarta.