Greater Jakarta on alert for drought

Dry weather conditions have hit Jakarta’s satellite cities of Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi, raising concern of water supply disruptions throughout Greater Jakarta.

A long dry spell has led to a drastic reduction in the flow of Cisadane River in Tangerang municipality since early last month.

Operators of the Cisadane floodgate said the river’s water table was currently 11.6 meters, down from a usual level of 12.5 meters.

Local tap water company PT Tirta Kerta Raharja said that Cisadane River’s low level might disrupt clean water supplies to thousands of residents of the Balaraja, Tigaraksa, Cisoka, Teluk Naga, Kosambi, Pakuaji, and Mauk districts.

In Bekasi, officials reported that more than 48,000 hectares of farmland in 23 districts dried up after water from Jatiluhur Dam in Purwakarta, West Java, stopped flowing.

Districts of Bekasi that have been hard-hit by the drought include Cibarusa, Cikarang Selatan, Serang Baru and Setu.

In Bogor, West Java, more than 1,600 irrigation channels reportedly stopped delivering water to farmland in Cibinong and Ciriung.

The Public Works Ministry said on Wednesday that alerts had been issued for seven of Indonesia’s 16 major dams, including Keuliling Dam in Aceh; Saguling, Cirata and Jatiluhur Dams in West Java; Sermo Dam in Yogyakarta; Lahor Dam in East Java; and Bili-Bili Dam in South Sulawesi.

The ministry also said that eight small dams and 10 reservoirs were completely dry and issued low-water warnings for an additional 14 small dams and 13 reservoirs.

“Supplying raw water for daily needs is our first priority. The water supply for irrigation and industry can come after that,” the ministry’s director general for water resources, Mochammad Amron, said.

The Jakarta administration said residents would have an adequate water supply until the end of dry season.

Director of city-owned water company PT PAM Jaya, Maurits Napitupulu, said that the drop in the raw water supply was not significant. “Our partner Perum Jasa Tirta II has assured us that the water supply will be secure until October,” Maurits said. “Jakartans should not worry about the clean water supply.”

The capital receives around 83 percent of its raw water supply from Jatiluhur Dam, which is channeled through West Citarum River.

Fifteen percent of the water supply is delivered through pipes from Tangerang and 2 percent comes from Krukut River in South Jakarta.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has forecast that the rainy season would begin between October and November in most areas in Indonesia.

The BMKG forecast that the rainy season would begin between Oct. 11 and Oct. 20 in Bogor, Depok, southern and eastern Jakarta; while forecasting an end to dry weather in Tangerang and northern and western Jakarta between Oct. 21 and 31.

The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) said it would start distributing clean water to drought-ridden areas of five provinces, including Tangerang and Serang in Banten; Gresik, Lumajang and Nganjuk in East Java; Gunungkidul, Kulonprogo and Sleman in Yogyakarta; Indramayu, Bandung and Cimahi in West Java; and Kebumen, Klaten, Magelang, Blora and Purworejo in Central Java.