W. Java administration takes steps to conserve water
W. Java administration takes steps to conserve water
JAKARTA (JP): The West Java administration has taken steps to
conserve water because of fears that the supply from the
Jatiluhur reservoir will not be enough to irrigate all rice
fields in the area.
The current drought has threatened many paddies along the
northern coast of West Java, said H.E. Djaelani, a senior
official of the administration, as quoted by Antara.
The water in the Jatiluhur reservoir might not be sufficient
to meet the needs of all rice paddies in the region, and steps
must be taken to conserve water, said Djaelani, who is assistant
to West Java governor of the Purwakarta area.
The administration has rationed water through rotational
irrigation and has provided water pumps or built emergency dams.
The administration has also delayed rice planting, calling on
farmers to use seeds that grow quickly and are more resistant to
pests. Rice fields that do not have access to irrigation water
should be planted with other crops.
Djaelani presided at a meeting this week to assess the rice
planting session for areas that depend on Jatiluhur water.
Fears were expressed at the meeting about the possibility of
the drought expanding into areas surrounding the reservoir after
many streams in the northern part of West Java dried up.
Tukul Santoso, managing director of Jatiluhur Authority, the
state agency which manages the reservoir, said water levels in
Jatiluhur and two other reservoirs, Saguling and Cirata, which
also depend on the Citarum River, have declined.
They were only sufficient to meet irrigation needs of the
region, Tukul said.
He said that on July 15, the water surface of Saguling fell to
632.21 meters, nearly nine meters below what was anticipated.
Cirata fell to 211.15 meters, or about six meters below the
anticipated level. The water level in Jatiluhur was eight meters
lower than was expected.
"Given these levels, the amount of irrigation water is just
sufficient. There are 912.17 million cubic meters of water, while
the total need of the area is 862.88 million cubic meters...until
September," he said.
An earlier Antara report said the drought had affected 12,420
hectares of rice fields in West Java, although none were declared
total losses.
Meanwhile in Jambi,Antara also reported Wednesday that a water
shortage in some lowlands of Jambi could lead to rice crop
failure.
Three hundred seventy hectares of paddies in the province have
been damaged by drought, said Tagor Mulia Nasution, head of crop
protection at Jambi's agricultural office.
"Crop failure will increase unless rain falls in the next 15
days," Nasution said. (09)