Acting Mayor Calls Mining Material So Sedimentation In Watershed Trigger Ambon Flood

Watershed normalization in Ambon due to sedimentation. (ANTARA/Ho-Diskominfo Ambon)

AMBON - The Acting Mayor of Ambon, Bodewin Wattimena, stated that sedimentation in the Watershed (DAS) is one of the causes of flooding during heavy rains.

"If the river is normal, then there is no possibility of flooding, but due to river sedimentation, the overflow of river water during heavy rains causes flooding," he said, quoted from Antara, Thursday, July 14.

He added, sedimentation of river flows is generally caused by material from the C excavation mine in hilly areas, and garbage that is intentionally dumped into the river.

Bodewin said that his party had asked mining entrepreneurs to move heavy equipment to help carry out the cleaning. Especially in village or state government areas where C . mining is being carried out

"The problem that causes this flood, which we must eliminate, is at least in locations where floods have occurred this year, next year there will be no more flooding," he said.

He admitted that flood disasters are not like landslides which are difficult to predict due to the contours of the land and so on. Flood disasters can be easily identified, because when rivers overflow, there will be floods.

The overflow, he continued, was because the river could not accommodate the heavy rainfall, as a result, the water rose through the retaining channel on the side of the river, moreover many of the embankments were broken.

The Ambon City Government, through the PUPR Service, will also coordinate with the Maluku River Basin Center (BWS), in the normalization of rivers in the city of Ambon, in accordance with the authority they have.

"The authority for the river is in the city PUPR service but also in the provincial PUPR and Maluku BWS, therefore we will coordinate efforts to normalize the river," he said.