Lack Of Water Absorption And Unpreparedness Of Capital Infrastructure In Facing Floods

JAKARTA - After heavy rains that hit DKI Jakarta from Tuesday afternoon, December 31 to Wednesday, January 1, finally a number of streets and residential areas were flooded with varying heights.

TMC Polda Metro Jaya, for example. Through their Twitter account, they reported that in Jakarta on Wednesday, January 1, flooding had actually occurred in several areas in Jakarta, including the Housing Secretariat of Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta. The flood is said to have occurred around 05.00 WIB with a water level of about 30 to 50 cm.

In addition, floods have also occurred in several areas in the capital, including the Borobudur Campus on Jalan Kalimalang, East Jakarta, where the water level is estimated to be up to 40 cm. In addition, flooding also occurred in residents' housing in Gedong Village in Pasar Rebo, East Jakarta, with an estimated water level of 30-70 cm.

Floods also hit residents in Kelapa Molek, Kelapa Gading Timur, North Jakarta. Not only that, the area of Jalan Bambu Kuning, Cengkareng Barat Village, West Jakarta was also reported to have flooded with water levels reaching 50-60 cm.

Reflecting on the distribution of the flood spots, a city planning observer from Trisakti University, Nirwono Yoga, said that the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government does not seem ready to deal with flooding that might occur considering that currently the rainy season is in sight.

"The flooding this week proves that the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has not done much in anticipating flooding," Yoga said when contacted by VOI, Wednesday, January 1.

The absence of anticipation, Yoga said, was reflected in the interruption of the riverbank arrangement program which occurred due to disagreements or differences in the concept of normalization or naturalization handling. In addition, he also said that land acquisition on the riverbanks stopped even though in June 2019, floods in residential areas on the riverbanks also occurred.

Not only is there no naturalization or normalization of riverbanks ahead of the rainy season, Yoga explained, revitalizing the lake or there is also a slow process.

"The revitalization of lakes, ponds, reservoirs, or reservoirs is slow to be dredged and deepened. In fact, there are still obstacles to (land) acquisition for the construction of a new reservoir to stop," he said.

He denied that land subsidence in Jakarta was also one of the causes of flooding. According to Yoga, there is something that has escaped the attention of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government when it enters the rainy season, namely water channels. According to him, the number of flood points indicates a bad and inadequate water system in Jakarta.

"The addition of new RTH or Green Open Space is not significant. This is what makes water catchment areas not increase. This is evident from the floods that hit Jakarta this week," said Yoga.

Previously, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) had predicted that rain would occur throughout Jakarta on New Year's Eve.

BMKG estimates that Central Jakarta and West Jakarta will receive moderate rain, East and South Jakarta will experience rain with lightning, and light rain in North Jakarta and the Thousand Islands area.

As a result, the increase in surface water in rivers and also flooding occurred in several places. BPBD DKI Jakarta has monitored, since 05:40 WIB a number of floodgates have entered the alert level. For example, the Karet Water Gate (West Flood Canal) has now reached 190 cm in height and the Jembatan Merah Water Gate (Ciliwung) which is currently on standby status.

In addition, the sluice gates that were recorded as having entered the second alert are the Manggarai Sluice Gate, which now has a height of 925 cm, the Kali Duri Water Pump (Kalijodo), which has a water height of 291 cm.

"Water Gate Marina Ancol (Sea) 190 cm and 3 alert, Fish Market Pump (Sea) 171 cm is also on three alert, PS Pesanggarahan 188 cm, PS Sunter 186 cm, Istiqlal Sluice Gate 291 cm, Sluice HEK (East Kali Baru) 180 cm on standby, "as quoted from a written statement from BPBD DKI Jakarta, Wednesday, January 1.

Meanwhile, for Katulampa Weir (Hulu Ciliwung), BPBD DKI Jakarta recorded a normal water level of 40 cm.

In his written statement, BPBD DKI Jakarta also gave an early warning for residents in the river basin to be alert and alert if floods hit at any time.