The National Capital City (IKN) of the archipelago will be a modern, flood-free city. The reason is because the Sepaku Dam has been prepared which can hold water when it rains heavily. In addition, the IKN has shady trees as natural water absorbers so that it is guaranteed to be flood-free and comfortable to live in.
Flooding is a thorny problem in the current capital city (DKI Jakarta) and seems to be a ‘tradition’ every year. Floods are annoying because they make roads difficult to pass and if they are severe they can submerge a house and everything in it, causing harm to the owner. Therefore, when the capital city was to be moved to North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan, the government faced the problem of flooding seriously.
To prevent flooding in North Penajam Paser (whose name will be changed to Nusantara), the Sepaku Semoi Dam was built. The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) continues to accelerate the construction of the Sepaku Semoi Dam in North Penajam Paser Regency to support raw water needs and flood control in the IKN Nusantara area in East Kalimantan Province.
The Sepaku Semoi Dam is located in Tengin Baru Village, Sepaku District. It is targeted to be impounded bymid-2023. The Chairperson of the IKN Infrastructure Development Implementation Task Force, Danis Hidayat Sumadilaga stated that water availability is the most important factor in building an area.
Danis continued, the Sepaku Semoi Dam is the basic infrastructure that must be built at the earliest in the construction of the National Archipelago’s IKN. Meanwhile, the progress of the construction of the Sepaku Semoi Dam is now 82.5%. Currently, the main weir is being raised which is less than 4 meters. It is hoped that it will be completed and impounded around June
Danis projects that the Sepaku Semoi Dam can supply 2,500 liters/second of raw water, 2,000 liters/second for IKN Nusantara and the remaining 500 liters/second for Balikpapan. Apart from the dam, the PUPR Ministry is also completing the Sepaku River Intake with a capacity of 3000 liters/second. So that there will be a raw water supply of 5,000 liters/second for the projection of around 2 million IKN residents until 2035
The Sepaku Semoi Dam in Penajam Paser Utara Regency, East Kalimantan was built to support raw water supply and flood control in the IKN Nusantara area. As the nation’s capital, attention must be paid to its irrigation and flood control issues. The Sepaku Semoi Dam will stand firm and make Nusantara Archipelago’s IKN free from flooding even though it is the rainy season.
As the nation’s capital, Nusantara is a modern city of the future, but still pays attention to the environment. Reflecting on DKI Jakarta, don’t let IKN Nusantara have a flood problem too. One way to prevent this is to build a dam that can hold water even when it’s raining heavily.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Public Works and Public Housing, Basuki Hadimuljono stated that the construction of the Sepaku Semoi Dam was optimized to provide raw water for the IKN area with a capacity of 2,000 liters/second and for Balikpapan City at 500 liters/second. This dam is also projected to be a flood control infrastructure in the IKN area by 55%.
Minister Basuki added that the workers would add ornaments to the main building of the dam with local wisdom so that it looks more artistic, not only in the landscape of the dam but also in the core of the dam.
The Sepaku Semoi Dam does not only function as a water reservoir and flood prevention. However, it can also be a tourist destination because of its artistic appearance and distinctive Kalimantan ornaments. In this way it will also have an impact on the surrounding community because many tourists and local residents can sell souvenirs and food.
IKN Nusantara is designed as a sponge city so that it is guaranteed to be flood free. The Director of the State Apparatus of the Ministry of National Development Planning, Prahesti Pandanwangi, stated that Sponge Citycan collect rainwater and use it as a water resource. This city can keep rainwater from going straight into the drainage canal, and can increase infiltration into the ground.
This means that IKN will become a sponge city because of the presence of trees in it. Apart from being air filters and the world’s lungs, trees in the forest also function to absorb rainwater like a sponge. So that during the rainy season it will be safe and not flooded, because the water is well absorbed by tree roots.
When the tree has absorbed water, it will be regulated so that the water absorbed becomes a new spring. IKN residents will not be afraid of drought during the dry season. Also not afraid of flooding during the rainy season.
The development of IKN will be very environmentally friendly because the government is trying to protect Kalimantan as one of the lungs of the world. Apart from that, the Sepaku Semoi Dam will be built to collect rainwater so that IKN Nusantara will not be flooded. The dam also prevents drought during the dry season because it can regulate the distribution of water in the IKN and its surroundings.
