Tougher drain laws to tackle city floods

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city administration plans to give heavier sanctions for buildings that do not have adequate rain water drainage -- also known as water harvest -- installations in place, a city official said in a meeting set by the State Ministry of Environment Monday.

The meeting saw officials from the Greater Jakarta Meteorological and Geophysics body and State Ministry of Environment discuss their plans to mitigate flooding.

Ep Fitratunnisa, head of the Natural Resources Utilization division of Jakarta's Environment Management Board, said a 2005 bylaw on water harvest was "inadequate" and would be revised to include penalties and other measures necessary to ensure compliance by businesses.

"We are still working on the details of the revision, but several businesses and parties have asked for clearer rules on water harvest installations, so this is in our agenda."

Bylaw 68 stipulates that developments larger than 5,000 square meters must include a water absorption area of no less than one percent of the total area.

There are at least 12 types of pits that can be used as water harvest installations. The city has urged residents to consider a biopore system and water absorption wells.

The biopore system utilizes a hand-operated drill to make a hole 100 centimeters deep and 30 centimeters wide which is filled with compost to increase absorption.

Water absorption wells are more involved: small pipes are connected to a 1-meter-wide, 1.5-meter-deep well which should be located near a drainpipe and equipped with sedimentation rocks so rainwater can pour directly into the well, instead of pooling on the ground. Such wells cost around Rp 1 million (Around US $110).

"These wells not only absorb water, they also reduce litter in rivers and roads.

Water harvest installations are gaining popularity as short-term solutions to mitigate flooding, a major problem in the city. Floods in 2002 and 2007 were the worst in memory, costing trillions in damages.

According to Dindin Wahidin, speaker from the State Ministry of Environment, part of the blame also goes to bad city planning and the lack of designated green zones and water catchment sites. Green zones in Jakarta account for only nine percent of the city's total area, much less than the minimum 30 percent required by the Home Affairs Ministry.

Water management expert Fatchy Mohammad, also in the meeting, said it would take one million biopores to make a substantial change in flooding.

Depok is currently intensifying the cleaning of artificial lakes while Bekasi had budgeted Rp 250 million for a water absorption well project. Bogor, often blamed for flash floods, had no new plans. (anw)