Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 2 hrs ago
Heavy Groundwater Use Threatens North Java Coast, Minister Warns
Infrastructure Minister Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono warned that continued groundwater extraction threatens North Java’s coast.
He said groundwater supplies 90% of industrial raw water and about 70% of household clean water.
Only 0.67% of an estimated 6.4 million businesses applied for groundwater permits, according to figures he presented.
He also reported that 1,565 business entities lacked permits or approval to use water resources in September 2026.
Excessive pumping can make the land sink, leaving coastal areas more exposed to tidal floods and rising sea levels.
Yudhoyono said business water use needs better recording and oversight, and said the unlicensed cases could be examined further.
Indonesia’s infrastructure minister warned that excessive groundwater use could worsen land subsidence and threaten the North Java coast with sinking, tidal floods and rising sea levels.
Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono said groundwater supplies 90% of industrial raw-water needs and about 70% of household clean-water needs.
He said only 0.67% of an estimated 6.4 million businesses had applied for groundwater extraction permits.
Yudhoyono reported that 1,565 business entities were found without permits or approval to use water resources in September 2026.
He called for business groundwater use to be recorded and monitored.
- Who
- Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono.
- What
- He warned that heavy groundwater use could worsen land subsidence and threaten the North Java coast. He also raised concerns about low permit application levels among businesses.
- When
- He spoke at a national water self-sufficiency coordination meeting on Thursday; the article was published on October 16, 2026.
- Where
- Jakarta, Indonesia; the warning concerned the North Java coast.
- Why
- Groundwater use can worsen land subsidence, increasing coastal exposure to tidal floods and rising sea levels.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Authorities found 1,565 business entities without permits or approval to use water resources.
Yudhoyono warned at a coordination meeting in Jakarta that groundwater use could worsen land subsidence along the North Java coast.
- Industrial raw-water needs
- 90% supplied by groundwater
- Household clean-water needs
- About 70% supplied by groundwater
- Business permit application ratio
- 0.67% of an estimated 6.4 million businesses
- Permit applicants
- About 43,000
- Unpermitted business entities
- 1,565 found in September 2026
What people are saying
If not, land subsidence will get worse and the North Coast of Java will be increasingly threatened.
No matter how high we build coastal barriers, if the ground keeps sinking, it feels like we will have to keep raising the barriers, and this is not sustainable.
This is really not proper, because the ratio of SIPA applications to the OSS estimate is 0.67%.