Cirebon Regency Government Builds 4 Rain Village Retention Pools Towards Dams

Illustration. Floods hit Patia, Pandeglang Regency, Banten Province, Tuesday 27 December 2022. (Between-Muhammad Bagus Khoirunas).

The Cirebon Regency Government (Pemkab) has started to build retention ponds at several points in the eastern region to reduce the risk of flooding during the rainy season.

"For the time being, the retention pond is built around the Ciberes River, to be precise in the Waled-Asem area," said Cirebon Regent Wahyu Mijaya in Cirebon, Thursday, October 10, which was confiscated by Antara.

According to him, the construction of this retention pond aims to accommodate rainwater before entering the Ambit Dam.

Thus, the increase in water discharge in the Ciberes River can be controlled so that it does not overflow and does not flood residential areas.

He said the preliminary mapping results showed that this retention pond could be built at four points along the river flow.

We built retention ponds at four points. The goal is to hold back the flow of rainwater so that it does not enter rivers or dams directly, but first accommodate it in the pool," he said.

Wahyu ensured that the construction of the retention pond in the area could be completed in the near future. Currently, the Cirebon Regency Government together with the Cimanuk-Cisanggarung River Basin Center (BBWS) are preparing the work stage including determining the construction points and the depth of the required retention pond.

In addition to reducing the risk of flooding, he said, retention ponds also have other benefits, which can be used to meet the irrigation needs of agricultural land. We also build retention ponds at five other strategic points. The goal is to help optimally manage water discharge," he said.

Wahyu said the construction of this retention pond was part of the Cirebon Regency Government's efforts to improve the management of water resources in its area.

Not only the construction of retention ponds, but the Cirebon Regency Government also focuses on other steps such as planting 12 thousand trees along watersheds. This planting is done to help absorb rainwater and reduce erosion which usually worsens flood conditions.

Normalization efforts have also been carried out in several rivers since May 2024, including the Cisanggarung River. This normalization aims to improve the flow of the river. We are also strengthening the embankments that were damaged by the previous floods," he said.

He added that in the Pabedilan and Losari areas, there are nine villages that are the focus of building embankments to anticipate flooding. The construction process will begin in January 2025.

Wahyu is optimistic that the construction of retention ponds and other mitigation measures will be effective in reducing the risk of flooding in the eastern region of Cirebon Regency. "We hope that this effort can protect the community from flooding, especially in the coming rainy season," he said.