Environment continuity is influenced by pattern, policy and the environment management order. It is certain that the policy applied and arranged must give the benefit for all stakeholders. Basically, an environment is said to have given the benefit if it can be taken a economic value from it. But there is the important elementary benefit, that is the ecological value. This value is very important because if the environmental ecology value is well-kept, the economic value of the environment will be obtained.
Natural resource is an asset which can be used toward the human life prosperity. It is also said as a potency owned by nature for supporting the continuity of life through inventarization and evaluation of natural resource, effectively and efficiently. The evaluation is aimed at controlling how much resources available (such as natural resources balance) and how they are used. Its usage should be effectively and efficiently.
The problems of water resource is the important matter to be concerned by the Local Government, in relation with the effort of improving public prosperity. Water, being one of the highly important resources, is a main thing of the human necessity. Thus, water has become a basic element for the continuity of people life. Its provision is considered one of the crucial aspects in developing regional potency to fulfill the inhabitant’s need of water or other uses. Water resource includes underground water or surface water resource.
Water resource is naturally renewable naturally, because of being an unseparable element in hidrology cycle. In reality, however, there are some restricting factors influencing its usage, in quantity or in quality. In the quantity side, water resource will experience reduction in its providing ability if the amount utilized is beyond its availability. The problems of water potency, quantitatively or qualitatively, are related with the climate condition, geomorphology, geology, kind and landuse pattern, as well as human activities. Naturally, the first three abovementioned factors are the significant factors which influence the condition and dynamic of water resource potention, either the underground water or the surface water. For that purpose, the study of water resource is need to be done that will function as a fundamental element in water resource management. Water resource becomes a highly crucial problem in Indonesia, mainly in Java island, Bali, and The Island of Nusa Tenggara.
The increasing water resource needs can not be matched by a steady cycle of water. Landuse change caused by the force of people activities has generated the change in water body formed at lands. The real example can be seen in the regions which suffer flood in the rainy season, while the same regions experience dryness in the dry season. This change has forced the inhabitants in these regions to use groundwater in replace of river water. As a result, the groundwater use increases considerably at the end of the decade. Industrialization growth which can not be balanced by the permanent water source provision by the government is the main catalyst of the ground water overuse.The impact of this excessive exploitation of water source is beginning to emerge, such as periodical declining of grond water surface, land slides, sea intrusion and many more. When the environmental impact is felt, the importance of conservation is then realized.
Water source becomes one of the control parameters conduct in land order decision. As for groundwater, land order decision must follow the groundwater cycle or the groundwater flow scheme itself. The groundwater flow scheme will be started at the recharge zone. This is the zone where water on the land surface, either rainwater or surface water, experience infiltration process by gravitational means through pores at lands/rocks or through gaps/cracks at lands/rocks. This infiltration process will accumulate in a point in which water reach an impermeable rock layer. The accumulation point will create a saturated water zone. The difference of physical condition will naturally cause water in the saturated zone to flow through gravitational force, pressure difference, rock structure control and other parameters. This condition is what is called groundwater and the groundwater flow area is then called flow zone.
In this flowing phase, groundwater frequently erupts/emerges to the surface because of being cut by topography or geology control, such as fault, the occurence of impermeable rock layer, etc. The emergence of this groundwater back to the surface is called spring, while the area in which groundwater emerges is called discharge zone. Nowadays, the criteria for discharge zone has highly extended,mainly because of human activity. The area of the groundwater emergence to the surface caused by pumping, if intensively happens, can be categorized as discharge zone.
Water resource management needs a more clear, systematic, and aimed concept. To perform the providing efforts, utilization, manufacturing, and conservation of water sources in a region, it is needed a more accurate judgement about its characteristics and utilities, availability, and quality, the exact exploration method, the calculation of potency and environmentally-friendly exploitation value.. According to various concepts and considerationsas stated above, it is important to do a study on the potency of underground and surface water, in relation with the efforts of procuring potential water resource to meet the drinking needs, in quantitative or qualitative aspects. Besides, it can be formulated a pattern and utilization level so that it can be designed its utilization and conservation zone in a specified area.
The earthquake on May 27, 2006 striking Yogyakarta and the surrounding area took over 5,700 lives and caused huge disaster to the all sides of human life. Natural disaster caused by the earthquake has brought an impact on the availability of fresh water in the villages. Many local wells have become dried. This condition contributes another difficulty for the local people to do recovery.
By: Ratih Fitria Putri (Double Degree Master Programe MPPDAS UGM - Chiba University Japan)
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