Reduce Flood Levels In Settlements, Pekanbaru City Government Opens Water Gate

RIAU - Pekanbaru City Government (Pemkot), Riau Province opened the Siak River floodgates to reduce flood inundation in Pemukiman in Sri Meranti Village, Rumbai District.

Pekanbaru Mayor (Walkot) Agung Nugroho said his party was still trying to deal with flooding and so that the water receded quickly. This is by looking at the condition of the floodgates connecting settlements to the Siak River.

"So for acceleration, we open this floodgate so that the water quickly runs to the Siak River. Because if we wait (water inundates settlements) it can be up to a month," said Agung in Pekanbaru, Monday, March 10, confiscated by Antara.

He said that some areas had dried up and receded from the flood. However, water settlements continue to pool because their positions are low even from the road.

For this reason, efforts are needed so that flood water can be channeled back into the Siak River. This is also so that refugees who are in the tent of Jalan Yos Sudarso can return home.

His party again reviewed the flood with the Head of the Sumatra River Basin Center (BWSS) III Syauqiyatul Afnani Rangkuti and his staff. However, during the review, Agung found many floodgates that were in damaged condition.

They also found several floodgates with missing components. The city government cooperates with BWSS to accelerate the handling of this flood.

"We together with the Public Works, Sanitation Service, and BWSS have been down for the past few days. We also ask the ministry for water pump assistance to suck water so that it can be moved to the river, and the Siak River's water discharge has also begun to recede," said Agung.