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Biopores dug, trees planted to end floods

In anticipation of a possible prolonged water crisis and further mud floods triggered by heavy rainfall unseating volcanic debris following the Mount Merapi eruptions, villagers in Magelang, Central Java, joined in a campaign Sunday to dig biopores and plant trees

Slamet Susanto (The Jakarta Post)
Magelang, Central Java
Tue, December 14, 2010

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Biopores dug, trees planted to end floods

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n anticipation of a possible prolonged water crisis and further mud floods triggered by heavy rainfall unseating volcanic debris following the Mount Merapi eruptions, villagers in Magelang, Central Java, joined in a campaign Sunday to dig biopores and plant trees.

Around 500 people were involved in Sunday’s campaign, which was organized by Yayasan Kuncup Mekar, a foundation focused on providing water and basic needs for 700 families in Sambak village, Kajoran subdistrict, Magelang.

The coordinator and foundation’s manager, Herry Subrastawa, said the biopores, holes 1 meter wide and 2 meters deep drilled into the ground to absorb and hold water, were needed to provide clean water and reduce flooding because springs on the slopes of Merapi were buried under hundreds of tons of volcanic material.

Ash has also damaged the foundation’s water installations, he said.

“The biopores hopefully are capable of holding rainwater longer beneath the ground to ensure water reserves,” Herry said.

The biopores are expected to catch water during rainfall to reduce flash flooding caused by displaced volcanic material.

The recent eruptions, which killed more than 300 people, damaged vast forests on the mountain’s slopes, much of which is now covered in layers of ash.

In an effort to rehabilitate the area, 1,000 trees have been planted near the Babatan water spring.

“I hope the biopores will really increase water reserves here,” Sugito, 52, of Gondolan, Dukun, Magelang, said.

Residents that previously relied on such springs for clean water are now forced to walk kilometers every day to collect water from rivers, or collect rain water.

“I spend half the day just to get the water for our daily needs to cook and to feed our livestock,” Sugito said.

Fellow resident Priyono said that prior to the eruptions, seven water installations had fed clean water to the households via pipes.

“They are all destroyed now, including the Rp 275 million installation donated by the government,”
he said.

Local people are also relying on humanitarian aid as well as government assistance for clean water.

“But this is just a short-term solution. What we need for the long term are pipelines and pumps to make the water flow again from the rivers to our homes,” Priyono said.

Residents expressed hope that the government or other donors would speed up the distribution of pipelines and pumps to accelerate their economic productivity, which had been hampered by lengthy journeys to collect water.

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