Following its decision not to seal the center of the mudflow flashes and instead channel the hot mud through the Porong River, the Sidoarjo Mudflow Handling Agency (BPLS) plans to develop the mouth of the river into a mangrove forest, according to a BPLS official.

BPLS deputy head for operational affairs Soffian Hadi said the plan was based on the fact that since the mud had been dumped into the river since 2007, the sedimentation at the river's mouth had blocked the flow to the sea.

"We have so far planted more than 5,000 mangrove seedlings of the api-api species to prevent the blocking of the river's flow due to the sedimentation of the hot mud," he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

He added the mangrove was planted on a 23-hectare plot in Tlocor subdistrict, Jabon district, Sidoarjo.

He said not all types of mangrove could grow well in hot mud. The api-api species was chosen based on the recommendation of the maritime affairs and fisheries agency (DKP).

"The DKP said the plant could absorb the chemical compound of the hot mud and make it easy to carry away on the current and enter the sea without carrying the dangerous chemical content."

Soffian added the mangrove planting would also widen the beach line in the area, which had since 1981, long before the 2006 mudflow disaster, kept decreasing due to the high erosion rate in the upper stream areas.

Satellite images, he went on, showed the delta around the Porong River mouth had increased into 4 hectares while that above the river had decreased by 0.3 hectares.

"We have researched the river's condition. The hot mud disposal poses no danger to the river. It won't cause major floods as feared by a number of experts and activists."

Separately, environmental expert Djaja Laksana of the 10 November Institute of Technology (ITS) in Surabaya insisted the disposal endangered the ecosystem.

The mud, which since March 22 reportedly also contained oil, was also polluting the people's wells.

The residential feasibility study team, established by former East Java governor Imam Utomo, also announced hundreds of the residents' wells around the center of the mudflow were contaminated with chloride, sulfate, sodium, magnesium and calcium and could not be consumed.

Apart from that, the toxic methane gas emitted by the mud also could incite cancer, leukemia and even death in humans.

The gas was reportedly first spotted in West Siring district, Porong, in April 2008. Five residents were treated in hospital for respiratory problems due to the gas emission.

The gas's hydrocarbon (HC) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) levels, similarly, are also reportedly high enough to cause fire and explosion.

Three workers from PT Adhi Karya, a partner company of BPLS, reportedly suffered from between 11 and 16 percent burns due to an HC explosion Saturday as they were working on a gas and water disposal pipeline in West Siring subdistrict.

The accident occurred after a worker threw a cigarette butt near a pipeline, despite a no-smoking sign in the area.

Djaja Laksana, therefore, welcomed the BPLS plan to develop the mangrove forest in the Porong River mouth area but insisted sealing the mudflow's source, instead of dumping the mud in the river, was a better measure to deal with the mud.

"We deal with the lives of the residents living in the affected regions."

Popular

Essay competition: ‘Rethinking work: Driving sustainable growth in the digital age’

Indonesia seizes ship carrying narcotics worth $426 million

JIHS Hackathon 2025 concludes with breakthrough innovations in Jakarta’s SCBD