Foamy River Shocks People in Gowa

TheIndonesia.id - Residents in Beru Village, Lonjoboko Village, Parangloe District, Gowa Regency, South Sulawesi, and its surroundings were shocked by the phenomenon of foaming river water. Was this a human act?

Chairman of the Green Community Forum (FKH) of South Sulawesi, Muh Yusran, in Makassar, Thursday, February 10, 2022, said that the phenomenon is blamed on high rainfall which causes water from the valley to fall into the river body and into the river.

"This incident happened yesterday (Wednesday, February 9) and we along with other academic colleagues went down to see it. This phenomenon is not the first time in Indonesia, in Java it has happened as well," he said.

Yusran explained that the phenomenon of foamy river water is a natural phenomenon that usually occurs because of the natural cycle of rain falling from the sky, so water flows in the valleys according to their size, and the current carries floating foam. Through the rapid flow of river water from the mountains that carries water into the valley that touches the rock, and forms a white foam-like soapy water.

On the other hand, river conditions also greatly affect the carrying capacity due to direct runoff from the watershed (DAS). This condition is referred to as a phenomenon of the characteristics of the channel or the flow of water into the river. In the FKH study, the foamy water is the result of a combining pattern of rain and runoff that occurs based on variations in rainfall from upstream of the Jeneberang watershed.

Meanwhile, a team from the Gowa Regency Environmental Service (DLH) also went directly to make observations at the location. Head of the Environmental Management Division (Kabid) of Gowa Regency DLH Andi Hernawati said the phenomenon of foamy river flow in Beru Village, Lonjoboko Village, Parangloe District, was not environmental pollution.

She did not find any activity upstream of the river, including agricultural activities. "There are only community gardens so there are no other activities," she said.

Andi Hernawati explained that the cause was the logging activities of old rambutan trees carried out by residents. "The powder from the cutting of the rambutan tree falls into the water because it is there where it is cut and split into blocks and boards for housing. The powder is the foamy one," she said.

Her agency also immediately conducted a test on the powder from the cutting of the rambutan tree and the results were indeed foamy. "So we didn't find any (other) activity. The only thing we found was the fall of a large rambutan tree. Because above the cutting site, the water normally doesn't have foam," she said.

She and Head of Pollution Department of the Gowa Regency DLH, Budi Wahyudin Rachman, also checked the field parameters in the form of PH and water temperature. The results were normal.

"We also measure the pH of the water and the temperature is normal. The pH is at 6 and 7, because we tested it at several points that we took. The pH of water from 6 to 9 is normal. The temperature is also normal according to field reviews," she said.