The Baru Barat River (Indonesian: Kali Baru Barat 'Western New River') is a man-made canal flowing from the Cisadane River in Bogor Regency to Jakarta, Indonesia.[1] It was one of two canals built in the 18th century under the order of the Governor-General Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff, originally to transport agricultural harvests from Bogor to Batavia (now Jakarta).[2] Currently both canals, now known as Kali Baru Timur (Baru Timur River) and Kali Baru Barat (Baru Barat River), are among the main rivers in Jakarta, and part of the Ciliwung Cisadane flood control project.[3] Flowing through the areas of Pancoran and Tebet, South Jakarta, among others, Baru Barat River is one of the drainages that flow the water into Banjir Kanal Barat.[4]

Baru Barat River
Kali Baru Barat ("K. Baru Brt"), bottom left in the map of rivers and canals of Jakarta (2012)
Native name	Kali Baru Barat  (Indonesian)
Location
Country	Indonesia
State	Jakarta
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Ci Sadane, West Java
Mouth	Banjir Kanal Barat, Ci Liwung

This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. (July 2022)

Etymology

The name "Kali Baru" (New River) is connected to the fishing harbor in the Tanjung Priok area of North Jakarta. In the 1960s, the harbor was established to replace the Kali Kresek Lahoa fishing harbor which closed in 1967. The area was divided into two parts: Kalibaru Timur (Eastern Kali Baru) and Kalibaru Barat (Western Kali Baru).[5] After the "new" fishing harbor was closed in 1988, the area became a place for unloading lumber bound for Jakarta.[6]

History

In 1739, the Dutch East Indies government under Governor-General Van Imhoff built the Oosterslokkan ("Eastern Canal") for irrigation and for transporting goods inland. The canal was completed 14 years later, in 1753, but its use for transportation failed due to leaks and the high cost of building multiple water gates. The canal was used only for irrigation.[7] In 1753, the Oosterslokkan was lengthened to the eastern canal at Weltevreden (Lapangan Banteng), joining the Prapatan canal, to become known as "Kali Baru" and currently known as "Kali Baru Timur" (Baru Timur River). As the eastern canal required high maintenance and repair costs, in 1776, Van Imhoff ordered the opening of another canal from the Cisadane River to the Ci Liwung. This canal was called the Westerslokkan ("Western Canal"), currently the "Kali Baru Barat" (Baru Bart River).[2][7] While the eastern canal was dug from Katulampa until Meester (Jatinegara) and received additional water supply from the Cikeas River until the Sunter River, the Westerslokkan flowed from the Cisadane River, passing the Cipakancilan River, into Kali Baru Barat, Matraman (Minangkabau River), and discharging into Banjir Kanal Barat.[8]

The Baru Barat River was built to connect the Cisadane and Ciliwung Rivers in the northern part of Bogor, and functioned to irrigate the rice and fruit fields in Cilebut, Citayam, Depok, Pondok Cina, Tanjung Barat, and Pondok Labu. Now, the part connected to Ciliwung is already closed.[7]

Hydrology

The Baru Barat River is grouped into the Central Area Stream Handling System of Jakarta, along with the Krukut River, Ci Liwung, and Banjir Kanal/Tarum Barat, with a total entry debit at the upstream of 50 m³/sec and at the downstream of 290 m³/sec, and the exit debit at the upstream of 150 m³/sec and at the downstream of 370 m³/sec, from about 17 tributaries.[9][10]

In 2016 the river had a width three meters and looked clear. The depth reached only the toes in the dry season, but up to one meter in the rainy season.[11] The bottom and banks of the river were covered by green algae and wild bushes, giving a green tint to the river despite the transparent water.[11]

Geography

The river flows in the northwest area of Java with predominantly tropical rainforest climate (designated as Af in the Köppen-Geiger climate classification).[12] The annual average temperature in the area is 27 °C. The warmest month is March, when the average temperature is around 30 °C, and the coldest is May, at 26 °C.[13] The average annual rainfall is 3674 mm. The wettest month is December, with an average of 456 mm rainfall, and the driest is September, with 87 mm rainfall.[14]

Normalisation

The Baru Barat River is a source of flooding in Jakarta,[15] mainly due to garbage accumulated in the river.[4] The government attempted to clean the river, with noticeable progress in 2015.[11][16]

See also

• List of rivers of Java

References