The Sinking Land Along with the People Inside in Semarang

Semarang is one of the largest cities in Indonesia, with tons of supplies inside. The people who live in Semarang are very generous and have a good attitude towards other people, and it’s not hard to find good people in Semarang. While they have such a good attitude, this place still lacks a pivot thing for human life, water. Although all the research
has shown that city is more adaptable to the massive exchange, it can have a logical reason to tackle a problem or sarcastic “The city is better than a village” campaigns. It is a very deadly wrong campaign that builds stereotypes between city and village. We can find hundreds of
beautiful villages in Semarang, and still, there are no significant gaps between the city and villages. Along the way, water scarcity becomes one of the many similarities.

The rise of the fabric means the pollution itself has also risen significantly.

The impact is no doubt on nature like clogs the vital grainage canals that influence the spread of illness exaggeratedly. The fabric becomes like a boomerang, one side brings profit to the
city’s income, but on another side brings catastrophe to people who live in the town or village. On the industrial side and the household side, people tend to dump their water into the waterways, which is the most “practical” thing to do according to the people.

According to World Water Atlas, Semarang is a sinking city, subsiding 8 centimeters each year in the most severely affected areas. The fact that sea step-up 2 millimeters per year due to climate change. The effect of sinking land and rising seas has a red flag to the city’s 1.5 million inhabitants to severe risks from flooding and bring hazards to the infrastructure, including the house. Moreover, the river plays a crucial to the drainage of surplus water from the city. Unfortunately, the natural sedimentation made the rivers slowly fill with silt. Flash floods from high amounts of precipitation upstream affect Semarang on an incidental basis. The government initiated a program to “normalize” the rivers ten years ago, which involves canalization to liberate speed. Most main channels have already been normalized except for the eastern Banjir Kanal Timur canal. This program upgraded the people’s health status
because they would not live in filthy places, but unluckily this river demands excellent attention.

To make people’s lives healthier, we need to upgrade the system so the government can guarantee the cleanliness of this river.

Here’s another fact about water scarcity in Semarang, about 15 regencies can’t have pure water for their daily use when rob happens. Another shocking truth is that the increase in people’s growth impacted water supplies for all the people. According to BPS (2014), the development of nearly 4,733 million people each year affected clean water supplies for the
people. In order to meet water needs, people are inclined to use the river water.

The poor people are suffering more than any group, without any support from the government, they can’t have water access.

Finding the best solution to water scarcity will probably take time. No absolute nor a correct answer. We need collaboration with high motivation and driven energy. As the government has done such things and still needs improvement here and there, society must’ve
gotten a good view of this issue.

The problem is not all the people feel educated enough about water and its use.

The higher the population growth, the higher the demand for water, and the “WFH” thing made people the water needs turn up. The collaboration of all elements with a high enthusiasm will at least educate the society about the cruciality of water supplies in Indonesia, especially in Semarang. One of the many ways is to create an online course (MOOC), bootcamp class, webinar, or even small group discussion. Through openness to talk with society, we’ll embrace their voice, their rights, and their own opinions on this issue. I’ve seen that this way has boosted society, especially the youth’s energy to be more critics of the environment.

The criticism turns out into action, and we can’t discount the small step because it’s worth many ideas.

Not only that, the small step later turns out to be a social community that helps the marginal group whether to discuss/brainstorm the water issue or give them a hand to live out any practical solution to the people surrounding.