TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Coastal reservoirs can be a solution to water problems, says government
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Tulungagung Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) personnel deliver clean water for residents in the regency in East Java on Aug. 31. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) estimates that several regions in the country will be hit by extreme drought during the transition from dry to rainy season. (Antara/Destyan Sujarwoko)
T
he government has identified the development of coastal reservoirs as a potential means of providing water for the public, as a growing population, coupled with threats posed by climate change, could strain the existing water supplies in densely populated areas.
A coastal reservoir is a type of reservoir to store fresh water located on the coastline near a river delta. The Netherlands, Singapore and Hong Kong are among countries and territories that have long used coastal reservoirs to bulk up their freshwater supply.
National Development Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa emphasized the importance of improving water security in Java, the country’s most densely populated island, saying that high water demand as a result of a rapidly increasing population “put a lot of stress” on many river basins across Java.
“Six river basins are experiencing water deficits ranging between 10 and 70 cubic meters per second. Furthermore, five urban agglomerations in northern Java will experience a water deficit of 163 cubic meters per second in 2024,” he said on Monday.
Citing a World Research Institute (WRI) projection, he said that Java would face high water stress in 2040, meaning that more water users would compete for a limited supply of water. Suharso also predicted that coastal flooding would occur more frequently and severely because of land subsidence.
Read also: Drought leaves more than 100,000 short on water in Gunungkidul
He considered developing coastal reservoirs an ideal solution in areas as densely populated as Java given that their development would not use up existing land.
