West Kalimantan Sentarum Lake Appears Drying, Residents Have Difficulty in Clean Water

The condition of Lake Sentarum in Batang Lupar District, Kapuas Hulu region, West Kalimantan experienced drought during the dry season, Wednesday (11/10/2023). ANTARA/HO-Bulin. (Teofilusianto Timothy)

KAPUAS HULU - The people of Batang Lupar District who live around the Danau Sentarum National Park area, Kapuas Hulu region, West Kalimantan are having difficulty with clean water, because water sources are decreasing. The lake is currently dry due to the long dry season.

"The clean water crisis has been going on for almost a month, people only drain it manually using hoses from rivers on the hills in groups," said Batang Lupar Subdistrict Head Aleksius Bulin, quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, October 11.

Bulin said that to overcome this problem in the future, permanent water storage facilities are needed so that they can help overcome the problem of clean water, which of course also pays attention to the health side.

He hopes that the government and the Betung Kerihun and Sentarum Lake National Park Center (TNBKDS) Kapuas Hulu can build a source of clean water for the community.

According to Bulin, construction for clean water could take the form of drilled wells and water reservoirs as reserves when the dry season hits.

"There is no PDAM yet, so far community self-help in groups and manually flows water from the hill water source directly to residents' homes without any filtering and there is no dam at the water source," said Bulin.

The Head of Sungai Senunuk Village, Batang Lupar District, Jahransyah Sanjan, said the same thing, saying that the difficulty of clean water in the area was due to the long dry season which caused a number of water sources to dry up.

"Those of us who are at the bottom of the hill where there is a water source have difficulty getting clean water, especially the residents who live on Sentarum Lake because currently the lake water has dried up due to the dry season," said Sanjan.

Regarding this issue, Chairman of Commission V DPR RI Lasarus said that his party had encouraged the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) to build clean water around the Lake Sentarum area in the Kapuas Hulu Regency area.

In fact, his party had wanted to budget for it, but the Ministry of PUPR did not dare to implement it because it was hampered by regulations regarding protected areas.

To overcome the clean water problem, there needs to be a solution that unites the perceptions of various related parties, especially the police, prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

According to him, clean water is one of the needs of the people around the Lake Sentarum area, especially during the dry season, the water dries up around the lake.

"Actually, coordination has been carried out with the Minister of Environment and Forestry (LHK), but there has been no synchronization at the lower levels, so we need to sit at the same table to find a solution for the community," said Lasarus.

Meanwhile, the Regent of Kapuas Hulu, Fransiskus Diaan, said that clean water conditions during the dry season are quite difficult, especially for people living in lakes, one of which is Lake Sentarum.

To address this, said Francis, the government will study possible water sources from the mountains or drilled wells to help people meet their clean water needs during the dry season.

"It is a problem that most residential areas are in the Danau Sentarum National Park area. We hope there will be a solution because this concerns the interests of many people's livelihoods," he said.

Apart from that, Francis also hopes that the Betung Kerihun and Lake Sentarum National Park Center can empower the people in the area.