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Clogged drains to be fixed after flood canal complete
The city administration plans to fix clogged drains and waterways across the city, which have proven ineffective in channeling rainwater during the rainy season
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The city administration plans to fix clogged drains and waterways across the city, which have proven ineffective in channeling rainwater during the rainy season.
Tarjuki, water resources controlling division head at the city public works agency, said the present capacity of the city’s drains was inadequate to deal with heavy rainfall.
“The city’s micro drains, which are 60 to 100 centimeters wide, are designed for rainfall of about 10 millimeters per hour,” he said.
“But we now get rainfall of about 20 millimeters per hour.”
Lack of maintenance and mounting garbage clogging up the drains were the other reasons, said Deputy Governor Prijanto.
“Besides, many Jakartans, including garbagemen, still throw waste into the drains,” leading to puddles that slowed traffic and contributing to major flooding.
The garbage, he added, also caused micro and macro drainage systems to not work at full capacity.
“The drainage repair project will commence soon after we complete the East Flood Canal [BKT] project this year. The drainage will be our top priority after the BKT,” he said.
“So far, we’ve prioritized the BKT project over the drainage system.”
The budget for maintaining the drainage system this year is Rp 199.5 billion (US$17 million), including funds for river dredging.
Jakarta has 18 main waterways and up to 500 smaller canals.
A 2007 study by the city’s river management body and Dutch experts under the Partners for Water program indicated the network of canals was clogged with 9 million cubic meters of garbage.
City public works agency head Budi Widiantoro said his office would in early July start dredging 76 waterways in five municipalities.
“The project is aimed at minimizing floods during the rainy season.
“We’ve allocated Rp 200 billion for the project,” he said recently.
The agency has to date dredged 350 cubic meters of silt from the Kali Mati and Pademangan canals in North Jakarta, and later plans to dredge canals in Utan Kayu in East Jakarta, Kebon Bawang in North Jakarta and Krukut Bawah and Rawa Kerbau, both in Central Jakarta, as well as the Ciliwung River.
Peter Vroege, an expert from the Netherlands, previously said regular dredging of waterways could reduce flooding in the city by 40 percent.
