Lapindo's embankment collapses, sinking equipment
Monday, September 18 2006 - 02:45 AM WIB
The collapsed embankment is only some 150 meters away from the main source of the outpouring of the hot mud and not far from Banjar Panji-1 exploration well.
Chairman of the Indonesian Association for Geologist Arief Rahmansyah said the collapse of the embankment was not strange given that the embankment in the form of the pile of stones and sand was not a real embankment designed to contain the pressure of the mud whose volume continues to rise. ?Commonly, an embankment is built to hold water, not the pressure of mud that continues to rise,? he said.
The proper embankment should be built by using cement, a mixture of steels, and stones. ?The embankment was built in an emergency situation, with the improper design,? he said
Under the emergency situation, efforts must be focused on channeling the hot mud and its water to other locations. Technically, the best and fastest measure that can be taken is by channeling the mud through Porong River or directly into the sea by using the already installed pipes.
However, Manager for Program and Research of the Ecology Study Institution and West Soil Conservation (Ecoton) Daru Setyo Rini said that the channeling of the hot mud and its water into the seas was a practical and cheap measure but the hot mud with high degree of salt content might cause the demise of the water creatures. Besides, he said, it might lead to the reduction of the river water level and lessen the water catchments capacity that can cause potential floods.
The Ecoton proposed the handling of the mud problem copy a pollution-handling model adopted by experts in Japan when tackling water pollution problem Minimata Bay in 1986-1988. Referring to the model, a permanent embankment should be built to relocate the mud that allows it settle before the water is dumped into the sea.
The sediment can be taken and utilized, she said.
Meanwhile, Sidoarjo Regent Win Hendrarso has decided to dump the hot mud that has yet to be processed in a water treatment into Porong River even though a permit has yet to be received from the Ministry of Environment. The water and the mud has been channeled by using pipes in 30 centimeter diameter and two machine mobile pumps.
?This is an emergency situation.? Win was quoted by Koran Tempo in Sidoarjo, East Java.
If such measure was not taken, more houses would be sunk, he said. The decision was made to salvage human lives that should be the first priority. He said that permit from the Ministry of Environment would be arranged later, he said. (*)