0 Regions urged to build integrated drainage system

Although claiming to have already secured a masterplan for an integrated drainage system for both Badung regency and Denpasar city, the Bali Public Works Agency head said the system could only fully function if each administration took shared responsibility to complete the construction and establishment of the system, especially within their own road territories. “The drainage system is supposed to be an integrated system. 

We already have the masterplan, however, the system has only been around 50 percent physically built. Responsibility for the establishment of this system is not fully on us [the provincial administration], the regency must also take part in building the drainage system under their roads,” head of Bali Public Works Agency Ketut Artika told Bali Daily on Monday. Artika said that most of the half-completed drainage system was the networks heading to the rivers and beaches, which are the shared responsibilities of the province and the national government. 

He mentioned the names of several main roads in the southern part of Bali, such as Jl. Sunset Road, Jl. Imam Bonjol and Jl Tuban, all which belong to the national government, while others, like the Jimbaran, Uluwatu and Gunung Agung routes, are in the control of the provinces. “Other than that, most of the streets in Badung belong to the Badung administration. If floods occur on the streets belong to the regency, it’s the regency’s responsibility to construct a drainage system for those particular roads,” he said. 

Throughout the ongoing rainy season, the island’s residents are continuing to experience numerous floods along Kuta’s main roads heading to Kerobokan, which include the intersection of Jl. Sunset Road, Jl. Nakula-Sadewa and Jl. Dewi Sri, especially when it rains hard throughout the day. Nonetheless, long-time resident of Kuta, Agung Tresna, who is also the coordinator of sanitation and safety at Kuta Beach, said that in terms of heavy flooding in the area, he had seen some improvements this year compared to the previous years. 

“We may still see some flooding on Jl. Kartika Plaza and Jl. Bakung Sari, but it’s not as bad as in previous years when floods could reach up to the pavements. I believe there is some improvement in the drainage system in the Kuta subdistrict, which is located in the center of the whole Kuta area. However, I can’t say the same progress is happening in southern and northern Kuta, and that includes the Jimbaran and Seminyak areas,” said Tresna. 

He believed that the improvements occurred partly because of the completion of the Denpasar Sewerage Development Project (DSDP), and he hoped that the soon-to-be-completed Dewa Ruci underpass would also help reduce street flooding in some way. Both Artika and Tresna acknowledged that at this stage, during the annual rainy season, personnel were being deployed to conduct a routine cleanup of the blocked drains. Other than that, only time can tell when there will be a completely constructed integrated- drainage system in Denpasar and Badung.

source : bali daily