Public Works Ministry building Tukad Mati flood control in Denpasar

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) is building  flood control infrastructure for Tukad Mati river, which flows in the City of Denpasar and through Badung District, Bali Province.

PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, in a press release received in Jakarta on Wednesday, said climate change was a challenge in managing water resources in Indonesia. Shifts and changes in wet and dry seasons, as well as patterns of rain with short duration but high intensity, often result in flooding.

"I invite all parties to safeguard the catchment area through reforestation, and to restrain the pace of land conversion," said Minister Basuki.

He also noted that the structuring and normalization program of the river will provide benefits in reducing the risk of floods in Badung District and Denpasar City, including the areas of Kuta, Seminyak and Legian, which are also centers of international tourism activities.

Tukad Mati is a river that has no springs and mainly functions as an urban drainage area, which divides parts of Denpasar and Badung District, within an area of 39.43 square kilometers of river watershed. The main river is 22.49 km long.

Recently, flooding was caused by the Tukad Mati, which could not accommodate the discharges of rain water, so it overflowed and inundated the surrounding area, plus the occurrence of water from the estuary. The Tukad Mati itself has an inundation area of 94 ha, with a pool of up to 2 meters.

The construction of the Tukad Mati flood control infrastructure, carried out by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing through the Bali Penida River Regional Office of the Directorate General of Water Resources (SDA), is divided into two segments, the lower and middle Tukad Mati. The project is being built in stages through multi-year contracts, which are targeted for completion in 2019.

The arrangement and normalization of the lower Tukad Mati is in the Patasari Neighborhood area, which is 1.9 km long and 50 meters wide. The scope of the work includes construction of dikes, kisdam, sediment dredging, construction of inspection roads, and construction of low dams.

The function of the dams is to minimize seawater entering the river upstream when there is flooding. With the existence of small dams, floods that occur in the upper reaches of the river are expected to continue to flow downstream without being affected by tides.

The total cost of managing the Tukad Mati Hilir flood control is Rp183.8 billion. At present, the progress of the work is 92 percent completed. The construction is expected to reduce the flood discharge by 35 hectares.

The Tukad Mati Tengah flood control is built in an area as long as 4.5 Km, with a width of 20 meters from Jalan Gatot Subroto, Mount Soputan, Sunset Road, including passing through the Legian and Kuta areas.

In addition to the construction of river and embankment retaining walls, this segment will also see the installation of two water pumps capable of handling 1,500 cubic meters per second. At present, the progress of this work is 77.4 percent complete, at a cost of Rp. 132.2 billion. Completion of the development of the Tukad Mati Tengah segment will reduce the risk of flooding by 59 hectares.

Aside from flood control, the Tukad Mati project also aims to improve the quality of what has been dirty, unsavory river water, which will soon be clean, and will support Denpasar City and Badung District as tourism destinations on the Island of the Gods.
(INE)
Reporter: M. Razy/Eliswan Azly
Editor: Fardah Assegaf