Bringing the theme of “Water and Climate Change”, the 2020 World Water Day highlighted the inextricable link between water and climate change. Protecting water source can mitigate and reverse climate change effects, and eventually will sustain living being.
One of the measures for water protection is ground conservation through infiltration pond. The infiltration pond concept is known as an effective, efficient, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly technology for shallow aquifer and groundwater recharge.
Approaching this year’s World Water Day, USAID IUWASH PLUS reverberates the importance of water recharge to outsmart climate change. To further disseminate this message, USAID IUWASH PLUS in collaboration with Salatiga city government, PDAM Salatiga, and IAIN Salatiga held a field visit to Senjoyo Spring and Randuacir village on March 10, 2020. The two are the locations of the infiltration ponds program implemented by the city government with USAID IUWASH PLUS assistance
This activity was followed by a talk show and groundbreaking ceremony of infiltration ponds construction at IAIN Salatiga on March 11, 2020.
The representatives from Bappenas, Ministry of Public Works and Housing, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Ministry of Village, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, national media, and bloggers/vloggers participated in the field visit.
They also participated in the talk show and groundbreaking ceremony with Salatiga Deputy Mayor, Mr. Muhammad Haris, the Director of PDAM Salatiga, Mr. Samino, and the Principal of IAIN Salatiga, Professor Zakiyuddin, the faculty members and students.
During the field visit, the participants from observed infiltration ponds in Randuacir village, a catchment area of Kalitaman spring—an important water source for PDAM Salatiga. There were 50 infiltration ponds built with assistance from Salatiga’s environment office in 2019 in Randuacir urban village.
Long before Randuacir urban village did it, Patemon village has already implemented infiltration pond program to increase water debit of Senjoyo spring—another important water source for PDAM Salatiga. This program started in 2014 with support from USAID IUWASH (the predecessor project to USAID IUWASH PLUS), local government, Coca Cola Foundation Indonesia, and community members.
Beside Patemon village, Coca Cola Foundation Indonesia also supported the infiltration ponds construction in other Senjoyo spring’s catchment areas which administratively are under Salatiga city and Semarang district. Total 920 infiltration ponds were constructed with assistance from the Coca Cola Foundation Indonesia.
The infiltration ponds construction in Senjoyo spring’ catchment areas, particularly in Patemon village, have been continued through multi-stakeholder partnerships. According to the Head of Patemon Village, Mrs. Puji Rahayu, the village government issued the Village Regulation in 2015 on Water Governance to require the land users to build infiltration ponds.
The infiltration ponds constructed in all Senjoyo spring’s catchment areas have increased the water debit of Senjoyo spring from 800 liter per second in 2015 to 1,100 liter per second in 2017.
The success of the infiltration pond program in Salatiga city was discussed further in the infiltration pond talk show, where the Deputy Mayor of Salatiga, the Director of PDAM Salatiga, and the Principal of IAIN Salatiga became the resource persons. The talk show was conducted to promote the infiltration pond initiative to be scaled up nationwide.
During the talk show, the Deputy Mayor Muhammad Haris explained, “Salatiga needs a lot of infiltration ponds because the availability of water sources in the city will impact its adjacent areas.
In addition to the 50 infiltration ponds built in Randuacir last year, the city environment office will build additional 30 infiltration ponds, IAIN will build 10 infiltration ponds, and PDAM 10 infiltration ponds in 2020. “If there are more lands, let’s build more infiltration ponds,” Muhammad Haris invited.
According to Muhammad Haris, Salatiga city government has allocated budget in its 2020 regional budget to build 30 infiltration ponds and plans to build more ponds using the revised budget (APBD-P).
The series of 2020 World Water Day celebration in Salatiga city was concluded with the groundbreaking ceremony of two infiltration ponds at IAIN Salatiga. These two infiltration ponds are among ten infiltration ponds that IAIN Salatiga are building on their campus in an effort to becoming a “Green Campus”.
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