City Council Lauds City’s Quick Action on Floods

Jakarta City Council Chairman, Khoirudin commended the Jakarta government’s swift action in managing the floods that have struck several areas of the capital.

I am calling for dredging to be done day in and day out

He noted that the rapid response shown by the executive branch—from agency heads to sub-agency heads—is commendable. However, Khoirudin acknowledged that the massive volume of water still outpaces the city's existing infrastructure.

"I applaud the administration and the agency heads for their responsiveness and hard work. However, the reality is that the sheer volume of water has outmatched our defenses," he expressed, Thursday (1/29).

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Further, he believes the city needs to go the extra mile to stay ahead of the curve regarding rising water levels, especially during heavy downpours and runoff from neighboring regions.

He urged for the reinforcement of flood control infrastructure, specifically by raising the sea wall. He proposed increasing the height by about 1 meter and widening it to between 5 to 10 meters so it can do double duty as a public thoroughfare.

"Sturdier, higher sea walls would be less likely to fail under pressure. We could even kill two birds with one stone by utilizing them as commuter routes," he noted.

He then emphasized that the city must keep the flow moving by regularly dredging the 13 rivers. He believes that managing sediment shouldn't be a last-minute scramble just before the monsoon, but rather a perpetual task.

"We need to be dredging around the clock so we can keep the river depth at a steady 16 feet," he added.

Khoirudin also turned his attention to the roughly 500 drainage links throughout the capital. He is pushing to ensure these channels are at least two meters deep and are dredged around the clock.

To keep the ball rolling on flood mitigation, he called in the SDA agency, sub-agency heads, and all city mayors for a high-level meeting.

"I am calling for dredging to be done day in and day out. By staying on top of this maintenance, we can mitigate the threat to our residents from upstream headwaters and rising sea levels," he closed.