JAKARTA - The government continues to prepare strategies to face the dry season which is predicted to begin in a number of areas in April 2026. One of the main concerns is the readiness of irrigation infrastructure and other supporting facilities.
Based on the prediction of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), this year's dry season has the potential to last until December 2026.
So, how is the irrigation sector ready now? The Ministry of Public Works (PU) ensures that the irrigation water supply is in a state of readiness to face the Godzilla El Nino phenomenon, especially in the Central Java region which is one of the national food warehouses.
Minister of Public Works, Dody Hanggodo, revealed that the Gajah Mungkur Dam will play an important role in the irrigation system.
Currently, the reservoir is used to irrigate around 25,000 hectares of agricultural land through the Colo Barat and Colo Timur irrigation networks.
The available water volume reaches around 340 million cubic meters, with an effective storage capacity of around 260 million cubic meters.
"This reservoir must still be able to supply water needs, especially for agricultural irrigation. Insyaallah it is safe, we are preparing various steps so that water needs are still met until the dry season ends," said Dody, Tuesday (7/4).
To maintain the sustainability of the reservoir function, the PU Ministry has carried out various sediment control efforts to extend the service life of the dam.
One of them is by operating four dredging vessels to reduce sediment deposits in the reservoir.
In addition, three closure dike units have been built to hold sediment from the Keduang River flow before entering the reservoir, so that it can reduce the rate of sedimentation.
Conservation efforts are also carried out in the upstream area through tree planting by the Bengawan Solo River Basin Agency (BBWS) together with the community, to improve the condition of the water catchment area.
"Broken Hulu is one of the main causes of sedimentation. Therefore, we invite the public to work together to green so that more water enters the reservoir than sediment," added Dody.
As a proactive step, the government has also prepared weather modification operations (OMC) or artificial rain, as well as strengthening cross-sectoral coordination, including with the Ministry of Agriculture, to maintain national agricultural productivity.
With these various mitigation measures, the government is optimistic that the impact of El Nino on the national food supply can be minimized.
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