More than 21 lakes, dams and other irrigation systems in West Java were damaged by the 7.3-magnitude earthquake that ripped through the area earlier this month.
"All four lakes suffered from leakages and cracks in their embankments and wall constructions," Deny Juanda, a spokesman for the West Java Quake Disaster Mitigation agency, said in Bandung on Friday.
The four lakes he referred to are Situ Cisanti and Situ Sipatahunan, both in Bandung regency, Situ Darma in Kuningan and Situ Gede in Mangkubumi, Tasikmalaya regency.
The 4-hectare Situ Sipatahunan lake is located in Baleendah, while the 6-hectare Situ Cisanti lake is located in Tarumajaya village in Bandung regency.
"The damage to the lakes should be repaired to prevent any unexpected problems from occurring," Deny said.
He said repairing the damaged lakes could cost up to Rp 4.2 billion.
"The West Java Water Resources Management Office has allocated funds toward the province's quake disaster mitigation agency to help repair the damage," Deny added.
Apart from the lakes, the Sept. 2 quake also damaged a number of dams and other irrigation systems in two regencies in Cianjur and Tasikmalaya, which were the areas worst hit by the disaster.
These include a 800-meter long dam in Cianjur that irrigates more than 4 hectares of farmland in the regency.
A 700-meter long dam in Cigalontang district, Tasikmalaya, which irrigates 60 hectares of farmland, was also damaged.
"Rice paddies there have already suffered from a lack of water. We don't know yet if those crops will fail or not," Deny said.
He said his office was also concerned by cracks found in the Darma embankment in Kuningan, West Java, following the quake.
The local administration should pay special attention to the cracks in the dam to prevent a water irrigation crisis in the regency, he added.
"This embankment is already old, so preventive management is required," Deny said.
He said the West Java Disaster Mitigation Office planned to discuss projects to repair the damaged lakes and dams as soon as possible.
"The plan to repair the damaged water sources should be decided upon before Sept. 16, because that is the deadline for emergency measures to be taken after the quake," Deny said.
Tens of thousands of people were displaced and dozens of others killed when the quake hit West Java.
The epicenter was located 30 kilometers beneath the seabed off Tasikmalaya regency. Strong tremors were felt across Java, from Banyuwangi to Banten and as far as Bali.
