The beauty, history and function of the sempor reservoir

A few months ago my friend and I visited a very beautiful reservoir, the reservoir named Sempor Reservoir which is located in Gombong, Central Java Province, Indonesia.

Not only because of its beauty, this reservoir is also located in a mountainous area, so the air around the reservoir is still very cool. Many people come there in the morning to see its beauty while exercising and breathing the cool air there.

I personally feel very comfortable there because I can enjoy the cool air and can exercise every day and what is even more fun there we can also play banana boot and we are also allowed to fish in the Sempor reservoir.

Most of the residents there sell culinary foods because the reservoir is very crowded with people, and there are also local residents who work as fish cultivators in the reservoir.

Fish cultivators use nets that are tied to each other, then placed in reservoirs, after the captivity is complete, the cultivators enter the seeds of mujaer fish, catfish, carp, and various types of other consumption fish.

Of course, it will be very profitable for the surrounding community because there is no need to think about land for raising fish and when they are big the fish will be harvested immediately and then sold to the fish market.

History of the construction and function of the reservoir

This reservoir was built in 1958 and is predicted to be completed in 1962, it's just that the construction did not match the estimates due to several factors such as land acquisition, funds, and others.

In 1967 the construction of this dam also experienced a quite dark tragedy because the dam of this reservoir broke down because at the time the construction was not finished and there was quite a heavy rain, then the water in this reservoir flooded several villages around the reservoir and the tragedy claimed the lives of 127 people.

Of course it makes a very sad story in the history of the construction of this reservoir.

multiple reservoir functions

This reservoir was built with the hope that it can accommodate as much as 68 million cubic meters of water, the water that is accommodated will be a source of life for all living things around the reservoir.

In the picture above, we can see that water from the reservoir will be channeled and channeled to irrigation built through the countryside and through rice fields, rice fields, and of course for daily human needs.

It is very clear that the role of this reservoir is very important for humans, animals and plants around it, because for some cases in mountainous areas it is usually more difficult to find a water source, so this reservoir is made to hold water.

And regarding the history of the construction of this reservoir, which is very dark, of course, it will not be forgotten and will always be a lesson for the construction of the next reservoir project so that accidents such as the construction of the Sempor Reservoir will not happen again.

• The lead image and photo above are mine.

Date : 2 april 2022