The Sepang Bengkulu Bay PLTU Waste Pool Construction Model Is Not Appropriate To Cause Abrasion

Coastal abrasion is thought to have been caused by the collapse of the Sepang Bay PLTU waste storage pond. ANTARA/Anggi Mayasari

BENGKULU - The water reservoir where the waste from the Sepang Bengkulu Steam Power Plant (PLTU) before being discharged into the open sea causes abrasion around the coast. The head of the Indonesian Green Canopy, Ali Akbar said, the system for constructing a coal-fired power plant waste disposal pool in Sepang Bay did not pay attention to model of ocean currents along the Bengkulu coast. "The collapse of the hot pool of water proves that the ANDAL document mentioned by the PTUN judge is able to overcome all environmental impacts, has proven to be a failure. The judge in this case was wrong and without a comprehensive analysis in making a decision," Ali said in Bengkulu, quoted from Antara, Friday, July 29. He explained that the rate of coastal abrasion around the disposal of the coal-fired power plant waste water in Teluk Sepang Bengkulu is higher than other areas. This is because the abrasion occurs with a length of approximately 700 meters left and right of the disposal pool with a height ranging from 30 centimeters. up to 1.25 meters. The waste heat is sea water which has been used in the process of cooling the PLTU engine which is dumped back into the sea, so that the sea surface temperature increases in temperature from the average sea temperature. An increase in sea water temperature can cause damage to coral reefs and marine biota that are vulnerable to rising sea water temperatures, where The temperature of hot water that can be discharged into the sea reaches 40 degrees.

Meanwhile, Bengkulu University Marine Science lecturer Deddy Bakhtiar assessed that the movement of waves in the Bengkulu sea formed an angle to the shoreline so that currents were formed along the coast that carried sediment. There is an increase in the rate of severe abrasion on the right side of the pond. Therefore, he hopes that the authorities change the sewage system in another way and not build something right on the shoreline.