West Jakarta Sub-Department Admits Flooding in Kembangan Complex Due to Leaking Embankment Project
Jakarta, Indonesia — The West Jakarta Water Resources Sub-Department (Suku Dinas Sumber Daya Air/SDA) has confirmed that the muddy red soil flooding that struck the Taman Permata Buana complex in Kembangan, West Jakarta, was caused by a leaking embankment from an incomplete embankment project.
Purwanti Suryandari, head of the West Jakarta SDA Sub-Department, explained that water overflowed into residents’ homes because the temporary embankment was unable to withstand the high discharge rate of the Kali Angke river.
“The sheet pile construction is currently underway to properly contain the Kali Angke,” Purwanti said when confirmed by Kompas.com on Monday, 9 March 2026. “During this construction phase, we had anticipated this by creating temporary embankments using geobags and earth. When water does overflow, we must wait for the river level to drop slightly before we can operate the pumps,” she added.
Purwanti noted that the concrete sheet pile work on the side of the Kali Angke waterway began in 2025 and is targeted for completion in 2027.
During the construction period, the West Jakarta SDA Sub-Department is focusing on managing potential flooding by relying on both stationary and mobile pumps in flood-prone areas, including around the Taman Permata Buana complex, which directly borders the Kali Angke waterway.
Additionally, the periodic clearing and dredging of soil layers in water channels will continue.
“We will also ensure that water control structures function properly, and periodic clearing and dredging of the riverbed will continue,” Purwanti said.
Similarly, Supriadi, a security officer at the Taman Permata Buana complex, also confirmed that the flooding originated from the Kali Angke overflow leaking from the embankment. He attributed the overflow to the fact that the embankment project remains incomplete.
“This is sheet pile installation work. If we called it a collapse, that would mean the sheet pile crumbled. But it hasn’t crumbled—it’s only leaking, but with great force,” Supriadi explained when met by Kompas.com at the location on Monday.
“The flooding here happened at night, on Sunday night, when suddenly there was a lot of water, very intense,” he said.
The water overflow also swept red soil material from the project area, spilling onto the asphalt roads in the complex area.
“The area was immediately flooded, about 50 to 60 centimetres deep, affecting around RW 09 and RW 11 neighbourhoods, with water entering the courtyards of homes,” Supriadi said.
The complex’s roads were temporarily covered with a thick layer of slippery red soil. However, according to Supriadi, the area had never experienced flooding previously.