The water of the East Flood Canal (KBT) in Marunda, North Jakarta, was covered in foam on Friday afternoon.
According to Tarya, an official in charge of Weir 3 Marunda sluicegate, the foam was the result of water churning up as it passed through the sluicegates.
“The foam is formed when the water falls into the canal,” explained Tarya as quoted by Kompas.com, noting that the foam was not caused by soap or other waste.
“The foam will be gone when the floodgates are opened, as it will flow to the sea. However, we keep them closed to avoid a shortfall as well as to supply water to PAM [city-owned water company].”
According to Tarya, the foam is an occasional occurrence.
However, the foam has negatively affected activities in the area.
Qurrotal Ayun, the head coach of the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Rowers’ Association, said that athletes had been training in the canals for the last five years,
They used to train at Bahtera Jaya, Ancol but due to unpredictable weather in the open sea, they were forced to find another location.
“Our athletes also could not use the West Sunter reservoir, as we need a minimum of a 2.5-kilometer stretch of water, while the reservoir is only around 1 kilometer,” said Ayun, who coaches teenagers as well as Olympians.
According to Ayun, the rowers often trained amid the foam, but would skip training if the foam was particularly heavy.
“We prioritize safety first and foremost. I don’t want the kids to have breathing problems when they go into the water, and I plan to set up scans to see the effect of the foam on the athletes’ breathing as well,” said Ayun, noting that no other health issues had resulted from the foam.(jlm)
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