Breach of Situ Gintung Dam, Jakarta, Indonesia

Abstract Only - Situ Gintung Dam was built in 1933 by Dutch Colonial authorities on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia. It was intended to provide irrigation water for rice farming, but seventy-five years later the dam was surrounded by a dense residential neighborhood and suffering from age. In 2008, the dam had a small breach but flows were non-damaging. Then in 2009, a heavy rain storm sent water over the top of the dam. It breached and released the full reservoir into a heavily populated area with little warning resulting in around 100 fatalities. The floodplain was only a half mile long before being captured in a larger downstream channel and non-damaging flows. The damaging flows were concentrated near the outlet channel and close to the dam. The breach occurred in the middle of the night when most people were home and asleep. There were some reports of a siren, but others said they had no warning.
The story of Situ Gintung is one of urban encroachment and lack of maintenance. In the US this case is repeated in many areas where ownership is unclear, maintenance and risk mitigation are not happening but development continues with people unaware of the risk they are susceptible to. It is a warning to public authorities in urban areas to take stock of dams they are encroaching on and find ways to provide for their maintenance and/or risk education. Given the short, narrow floodplain, proper city planning could have saved many people if they had not been allowed to build so closely to and even on top of the dam itself.