Adapted hydropower-driven water supply system: assessment of an underground application in an Indonesian karst area

Populated karst landscapes can be found all over the world, although their natural boundary conditions mostly lead to distinct challenges regarding a sustainable water supply. Especially in developing and emerging countries, this situation aggravates since appropriate technologies and water management concepts are rarely available. Against this background, the interdisciplinary, German-Indonesian joint project ‘‘Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Indonesia’’, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), focused on the development and exemplary implementation of adapted techniques to remedy the partly severe water scarcity in the region Gunung Sewu. This karst area, widely known as ‘‘Java’s poorhouse’’, is located on the southern coast of Java Island and distinctly suffers from the mentioned constraints. Under the aegis of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the conceptual and technical achievements of the ‘‘IWRM Indonesia’’ joint research project are characterized by a high potential for multiplication not only for karst areas but also for nonkarst regions. One of the project’s major accomplishments is the erection of an innovative hydropower-driven water supply facility located in a karst cave 100 m below ground and continuously supplying tens of thousands of people with fresh water. ... mehrReferring to the plant’s innovative character and the demanding conditions on-site, the implementation was a highly iterative process leading to today’s autonomous operation by an Indonesian public authority. Based on the experiences gained during design, construction, operation and monitoring phase, this paper introduces an implementation approach for adapted technologies as well as a comprising technical and economical assessment of the plant’s operation.