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)