"Water harvested during the rainy season with the containment method and other water conservation efforts is expected to be able to increase water supply," Head of BRIN's Limnology and Water Resources Research Center Hidayat noted in a webinar, Thursday.
Indonesia experiences high rainfall, though several regions receive low rainfall.
This condition has driven people to conduct water harvesting, given that there are several regions, specifically in Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara, that are estimated to experience a water deficit.
Researcher at BRIN's Limnology and Water Resources Research Center Nani Heryani stated that utilization and optimization of surface water and utilization of rainwater are two general methods and strategies for harvesting water.
Surface water utilization and optimization can be conducted by creating a micro reservoir, a small dam, and an elongated water container. Meanwhile, rainwater can be utilized by using a container to hold the water to be used for household purposes.
Determining the type of water harvesting infrastructure for the purpose of irrigation depends on the characteristics of the water sources.
From various types of water harvesting infrastructure, a small dam has the highest irrigation supply capacity, and as a result, it can irrigate large tracts of land.
Moreover, Heryani believes that by implementing water harvesting technique, the distribution can be adjusted to make it more equal. Water harvesting technique can also increase the area of land and vegetation density as well as minimize ground cover.
It can also manage accurate planting patterns and period, increase the value added of water, and improve the institutional role at the level of farmers.
"The key from the optimization of water harvesting infrastructure utilization is accurate choice of commodities and provision of water-saving irrigation," Heryani affirmed.
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Translator: Sugiharto P, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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