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View all search resultsFlash floods, hot weather trigger clean water crisis in Padang
Reduced water supplies from upstream areas trigger a drastic decline in groundwater level, causing residents’ shallow wells to no longer produce water.”
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Hole in a hill: A worker operates heavy equipment on Dec. 30, 2025, at a sand and gravel mining site in Gunung Sarik area in Padang, West Sumatra. Environmental group Walhi West Sumatra has called for a permanent halt to all sand and gravel mining activities in the area, saying they are a major contributor to damage to the Kuranji River, and increase the risk of ecological disasters, including flash floods downstream. (Antara/Iggoy el Fitra)
P
adang city is facing a clean water crisis after flash floods and hot weather dried up residents’ wells and disrupted the agricultural sector in the West Sumatra provincial capital.
Based on reports by residents, a clean water crisis has been felt since early December and initially affecting Kuranji and Pauh districts,
Padang Mayor Fadly Amran said the crisis was a spillover effect of recent hydrometeorological disasters.
“The main cause [of the water crisis] is due to the disruption of upstream areas of Gunung Nago and Batang Kuranji rivers,” he told reporters on Wednesday, as reported by Kompas.com.
“The condition caused the rivers’ water supply to diminish. The reduced supply of water triggered a drastic decline in groundwater levels so that the shallow wells used by residents no longer produce water.”
Padang city administration has prioritized the immediate repair of irrigation channels from the Gunuang Nago river.
The project is expected to provide a short-term solution to replenish groundwater supplies.
