Universitas Gadjah Mada and KagamaCare have successfully repaired the waterworks damaged by the earthquakes in Gumantar, Kahyangan, North Lombok.
Clean water becomes one of the urgencies after the quake that hit Lombok. In Gumantar, for instance, clean water flows were completely stopped since the first quake due to the damaged waterways.
“In fact, the water sources originate from distant mountains, so it is hard to reach the location,” said UGM Director of Community Service, Prof. Irfan Prijambada, Sunday (8/26).
Irfan stated the UGM team consisting of students on community service program, volunteers, local residents, and KagamaCare worked hard conducting the first survey and identifying the damaged waterworks. “The team found and repaired a waterwork with 12 meters of damage.”
However, another huge earthquake hit Lombok after that. The access to clean water was stopped for several days. On the other hand, clean water supply from the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) was also limited, so the team had to collect water from other villages with pickup trucks.
“We were concerned landslides would occur on the slope of Mt. Rinjani while we were doing the survey and repairing the waterworks,” explained Irfan and another team member.
After the earthquake subsided, the UGM team did another survey and repaired the damaged parts in upstream areas. At present, clean water has returned to Gumantar.