Watershed area is an important part in space and city planning. This part should not to be mistaken in planning. The area has been determined to be water infiltration, must be maintained and if it not it can be the disaster during the large intensity and quantity of rainfall into runoff water.

Most of big cities in Indonesia has same problem in facing urbanization, it results green open space decrease day by day because of the needs of residence. Physical development that not based on environmental sustainability will have a negative effect in the future such as flood or the quantity of groundwater. Water infiltration can not be separated from green open space. Ideally, every town has 30% green open space from total area of the city that may be lakes (reservoirs), green belt, parks and urban forests.

Jakarta currently only has green open space less than 9% of the total area. Vegetation cover watersheds also affect absorption of water catchment areas. More vegetation that covered  watersheds and the right type of vegetation, can help the water catchment areas to absorb runoff.

The things that can be done to improve and increase the water catchment areas in the city are:

• Determine the appropriate vegetation to be planted in the watershed. Some plants have the property to absorb more water than other plants. Some of these are bamboo, banyan, bisbul (a type of persimmon), rambutan, jackfruit, mangosteen, and matoa.
• Improve the condition of the soil that is easy to absorb water
• Make biopori. Making biopori can be done in the privacy (households) so if done collectively will increase the amount of water absorption in the big city.
• Creating infiltration wells
• Keep the watershed area by regulation that prevent converting area with buildings that is not environmentally friendly.

Source from here, here, and here

Starting from the smallest such households to increase the amount of water infiltration is the easiest way to do. Improving a number of effort to support environment sustainability, why not?

ASBINDO provides consultation to select plants and design a city park / green open space. Contact us for more information.