| dc.description.abstract | Worldwide population growth and economic development has increased freshwater demand, and at the same
time has threatened its availability. Poor management of freshwater resources has caused freshwater demand
to exceed its supply, which is known as freshwater scarcity in terms of quantity. Especially in developing
countries, a lack of awareness has led to a decrease of freshwater quality – i.e., an increase of freshwater scarcity
in terms of quality. Nowadays, freshwater scarcity is not only experienced by arid and semi-arid regions but also
by tropical wet regions such as the region where Kota Lama Site, Semarang, is located. This small city called Kota
Lama Site, has been suffering from freshwater scarcity for many years, yet this scarcity has not been
acknowledged by local inhabitants and the city government of Semarang. The plan of Semarang’s government
to include Kota Lama Site on the list of UNESCO world heritage, made the city government initiate the Kota Lama
Site revitalization plan in 2016. Since then, the city has attracted millions of visitors annually, and the number of
commercial businesses has considerably increased (23 %). The economic growth of Kota Lama Site could lead to
a more severe freshwater scarcity if Semarang’s government remains idle in recognizing this issue. Throughout
the world, especially in developed countries, the water conservation concept has been proven to reduce
freshwater scarcity. This concept is primarily intended to preserve freshwater quality, to reduce freshwater
demand, and to conserve freshwater for efficient uses.
Studies regarding water conservation measures for Kota Lama Site is lacking, although freshwater scarcity has
become a pressing issue for this city. This study represents the first attempt in searching for the most feasible
water conservation measures for Kota Lama Site by: analyzing characteristics of its freshwater scarcity,
investigating potential water conservation measures based on its implementation challenges and freshwater
scarcity characteristics of Kota Lama Site, and performing a scoring for selected potential water conservation
measures to determine which measures are most feasible. The selection of feasibility criteria is conducted prior
to the scoring. These criteria are determined in such a way that it represents vital elements that need to be
considered by four different categories of freshwater users in Kota Lama Site, before implementing a water
conservation measure. Because, although the city government of Semarang is responsible for the
implementation and management of water conservation measures, the focus potentially shifts towards
collective action and individual responsibility.
This study reveals that freshwater scarcity characteristics of Kota Lama Site relate to: (1) the lack of freshwater
supply (-23.117.367,95 L/year) from the regional drinking water agency which is known to be of poor quality; (2)
a supply deficit of groundwater (-255.104.525,09 L/year) in the confined aquifer; (3) the unusable supply excess
of groundwater (188.172.656,36 L/year) in the unconfined aquifer; (4) unutilized annual high rainfall (above
2.000 mm/year); (5) ill-defined regulations; (6) weak laws and regulatory enforcement; and (7) unawareness of
freshwater users regarding efficient freshwater use. Selected potential water conservation measures cover the
need of Kota Lama Site’s for: (1) strong laws and enforcement of regulations; (2) programs to raise the awareness
of local inhabitants; (3) actions to strengthen institutional and community capacity; (4) funding and its allocation
for water conservation; (5) an improvement of freshwater quality; and (6) a decrement of wasted freshwater.
Finally, this study recommends that roof-water harvesting and educational incentives are the two most feasible
water conservation measures for Kota Lama Site. | |
