Excessive housing developments cause floods in Bandung: Expert

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Bandung, the capital of West Java, has been recently deemed unsafe after numerous homes have been annually inundated during the rainy season for the past three years.

Ten years ago floods submerged only the lower parts of the city, but recently higher areas have also been flooded.

While the city is located some 750 meters above sea level, a flash flood swept through Bandung recently when the Cipaganti river overflowed on its way from north Bandung towards the Citarum river in the south.

A 48-year-old resident of Cidadap, Suyatno, said he could not sleep due to the heavy downpours over the past two weeks.

"My family and I have been under threat not only because we live on the edge of the Cipaganti river, but because the rains have been much heavier this year compared to previous years," Suyatno said.

The Dec. 2007 floods washed away three houses, including his own, and now Suyatno's family live in a hut which he constructed from scrap wood, plywood and plastic.

"We never imagined our house would be flooded because this housing area is in the upper part of the city. The recent floods were the second of that kind after the area was inundated in 2006," he said, adding that the flood also inundated housing areas in Cihampelas and Jatihandap.

Flooding on the main streets in Bandung has become a common sight in recent years, and traffic jams have become a daily ritual over the past two months because half-an-hour of rain has been enough to flood the city's roads.

West Java Environmental Forum executive director Denny Jasmara said he blamed the flooding on the deteriorating environment north of Bandung, and the appearance of "stone forests" which he said could no longer serve as water catchment areas for the city.

"Numerous luxurious housing estates in North Bandung have contributed to floods in Bandung which has also been facing a water crisis. Historically, North Bandung supplied 60 percent of the 108 million cubic meters of ground water the city uses annually."

The city administration has issued numerous bylaws and even ministerial decrees to protect more than 38,500 hectares of conservation land in north Bandung, but apparently these efforts have not been enough to stop the floods.

Walhi's campaign and organizing committee chairman Dadang Sudardja said the conservation area could intercept only 30 percent of the rainwater because of intensive construction of housing developments in the area.

"The area has been declared as a protected territory, but the housing developments continue despite the threat of harsh penalties from local authorities," he said.

In 1995, the Agriculture Minister issued a decree banning any individuals and institutions from developing the conservation area but it has not been put into practice.

Until now, the municipal administration has been unable to impose sanctions on anyone living inside the protected area because it was apparently not serious about enforcing the law.

"Developers gained permits from municipal and regency administrations to build houses on the (protected) land long before the construction commenced," Sudardja said.

Local construction and irrigation office chief Rusjaf Adimenggala said the frequent floods were triggered by poor drainage -- not excessive housing developments in the north of the city.

"More than 50 percent of Bandung's drainage system is no longer functioning properly, triggering unexpected floods on roads streets. We have had difficulty repairing the drainage system because it is made from stones," he said.

Adimenggala said, the municipal administration planned to resettle residents living on river banks to low-cost flats in east Bandung in anticipation of flash floods in the future.

Bandung mayor Dada Rosada says the resettlement plan is the only plausible and quick solution for those living on the river banks, and that his administration would work with the central government to help repair the city's drainage system.

The public however has been skeptical over the mayor's plans because in January he refused to sign a moratorium on housing developments in the conservation area in North Bandung.

The mayor was absent for the signing of the agreement, instead attending a ceremony to mark the starting of development of a new hotel in Cihampelas.

The moratorium stipulates that any individuals and institutions constructing buildings in violation of the city's spatial zoning will be prosecuted and fined a maximum of Rp 50 million (US$5,000).