Semarang City Government Speeds Flood Anticipation Handling

The Semarang City Public Works Office dredged river sedimentation in the Kaligawe Semarang area for flood prevention. (ANTARA/HO-Semarang City Government)

SEMARANG - The Semarang City Government, Central Java, continues to accelerate various flood prevention efforts, including the dredging of sedimentation along the Kaligawe Road channel starting under the toll tunnel to the front of the Sultan Agung Hospital in Semarang.

"The 3 meter wide (sedimentary) channel with a length of 1.5 km is targeted for completion in the next two weeks," said Head of the Water Resources and Drainage Division of the Semarang City Public Works Office, Mochamad Hisam Ashari, quoted by ANTARA, Friday, November 24.

According to him, the dredging of the sedimentation of the channel was carried out to make the water in the flood-prone area flow smoothly until its estuary in the Sringin River.

Rows of street vendors (PKL) along the Kaligawe Highway channel, he said, have also been brought under control by the Semarang City Civil Service Police Unit, reducing the risk of dredging and blockage of waterways.

In addition, the Semarang City DPU coordinated with BBWS Pemali Juana to optimize the Tenggang and Sringin River Pump Houses by alerting as many as 11 pumps with a capacity of 2,000 liters per second each to maximize the flow of water in the Kaligawe, Genuk District, and surrounding areas.

He said his party was still alerting special pumps for the toll and bend bend areas of the Sultan Agung Hospital, while the Padi Raya area was also alerted by one special pump.

Together with BBWS Pemali Juana, he said, the Semarang City DPU also alerted a "mobile" pump that was always on standby 24 hours for emergency conditions in various areas of Semarang City.

Apart from Kaligawe, other potential flood areas also do not escape the efforts of the Semarang City Government, including in the Dinar Mas Housing area, Meteseh Village, Tembalang District.

Hisam explained that the construction of emergency embankments in the form of bronjong embankments and kisdams continues to be carried out along the Babon Watershed (DAS) which crosses Perum Dinar Indah RT 06, RW 26, Meteseh Village, Tembalang District.

The Babon River is an estuary of the Pengkol River which originates in the Semarang Regency area, which broke several times and inundated Dinar Indah Housing last rainy season.

"Since last November 13, the Public Works Department has made a 23-meter-long stone-grade gabion embankment and knit wire on the banks of the Babon River," he explained.

The gabion embankment has a height of 3 meters and is targeted for completion in the first week of December 2023.

The results of coordination and field monitoring with BBWS Pemali Juana and the Meteseh Village Head, he said, the gabion embankment is planned to continue its construction 30 meters long from the BBWS.

Hisam hopes that extreme rainfall will not occur again this rainy season so that it will no longer cause the collapse of the embankment and threaten the Dinar Indah Housing area, which is currently still inhabited by 28 families (KK) out of a total of 39 families who originally lived in the housing complex.