Characteristics Of West Bangka Soil Containing Sand, BPBD Asks Residents To Save Water Ahead Of The Drought

Simulation of BPBD West Bangka Regency disaster management. (Antara/Donatus D)

BABEL - The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of West Bangka Regency, Bangka Belitung Islands Province (Babel) invites residents to save water when entering the transition period from the rainy season to the dry season.

"From now on we need to cultivate a culture of frugality in water use so that during the dry season the availability of water is still sufficient to meet daily needs," said Head of BPBD West Bangka Regency, Achmad Nursyandi in Mentok, Thursday, May 19.

According to him, the characteristics of the soil in the area contain a lot of sand so that it is not sufficiently able to hold water in the long term.

For this reason, it is hoped that the habit of saving water can start now, especially for PDAM customers and residents who usually take water from several raw water sources.

"We hope that this dry season will not cause a prolonged drought that could have an impact on various sectors," he said, as quoted by Antara.

He said the dry season will not only affect the reduced availability of raw water, but usually will also cause dryness above the ground, dry grass, withered trees thereby increasing the potential for fires.

"It is necessary to anticipate early so that we can together minimize the risk of land and forest fires," he said.

Based on experience, according to him, during the dry season residents use it to open agricultural land and plantations by burning.

The pattern of land clearing by burning a limited amount of land needs to be avoided so that it does not become the cause of widespread land fires.

"We continue to provide socialization and education to residents to jointly avoid land and forest fires," he said.

In 2021 the West Bangka Regency BPBD recorded no land and forest fires in the area, while in 2022 there were two recorded incidents in Ahoy Hamlet, Mentok with an area of about one hectare and the West Bangka Sports Building building. For house fires, in 2021 they will occur in nine locations, while in 2022 four locations.

"So far, house fires have been single incidents, fires have not spread to other houses and are mostly caused by short circuits of electricity," said Achmad.