commit to user
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Small on-Farm Reservoir (SFR) has become a significant water body in
the world, which has been utilized for many things, such as irrigation, service
sector etc. Nevertheless, the SFR is being located under serious threat due to
pollution and high concentration of compounds in its water. Some study found out
a lot of issues that affect the SFR’s environment, particularly in linking with the
agricultural activities by using fertilizers and houses sewages and livestock
surrounding the SFR.
The quality of water changes over time, organic material mixed with the
water, is one among the factor that influenced the quality that being in higher
quality, can be converted to lower quality relatively to the access of wastes of
human activity (such as organic waste from industry). Pollutant in the water will
cause the providing of carbon is very abundant, affecting the speed growth of
bacteria, microbes, germs and so on to double or more. In this case, the demand of
oxygen becomes bigger, even though the quantity of source of oxygen from the
air remains steady. Consequently, there will not be stable between oxygen in the
water with that used by organisms, resulting in a scarcity of oxygen dissolved in
the water (Yahia 2010).
Lowering of dissolved oxygen range to approximate zero, affecting plants
and aquatic animals will not be able to survive and be substituted with the growth
of microbes that do not need oxygen, or called as anaerobic microbes. Water
hyacinth plant, for example, grows in such as catchments, lakes, and etc. It
speedily develops and covers of the water surface and will bring a negative thing.
That is because in SFR’s ecosystem, water hyacinth is one of the vigorous
constituents which play a character as maker of oxygen with the aid of solar
energy and chlorophyll in the leaves. As a result, it comes to be a source of
commit to user
2
species of organism like aquatic animals, aquatic insects, and animals that exist in
SFR. Water hyacinth is also able to absorb many nutrients and pollutants,
comprising heavy metals, released into the lake due to agricultural activities. But
they will pile at SFRs’s as soon as die (Navarro and Phiri, 2000).
Difficulties that might be appeared from the SFRs, which are situated in
the region of Central Java are the risks of pollution and environmental harm
impacted by high levels of sedimentation and high ranges of evolution of aquatic
plants, which caused in abridged change of water quality. Furthermore, there is
another harm related with conflict of notice in the exploitation of SFRs. There are
many processes occur in the SFR free nutrients from the decomposition processes
in the aquatic environments can be recycled for many matters in the water. But as
the study demonstrates, not all the materials will be decomposed, or in other
word; the remains will take shape as organic layer at the bottom.
Runoff is the main source that carries water from surrounding area into the
SFR which often being designed and located among agriculture activities,
livestock, and human’s houses, so runoff can be effect of water quality of SFR. According to previous studies, the environments surround them end up to be
polluted based on how much is being exposed of pollutants. From our
observations can be seen waste water from those activities by runoff, which
happens during wet seasons ends up to SFRs. According to many research water
which comes by rain in natural and normal situations can be in high quality. But
this water which collects at SFRs mixes with waste water that comes from many
sources such (agriculture, human, and livestock activities) results water in
eutrophication and reduces water quality. This water causes the spoiling of
ecosystems and starts to appear difficult issues. Farmers and many societies rely
on the SRFs for irrigation systems to water their farming and livestock during dry
season. For the reason that, their living becomes in threatened situations.
The study is influent in the influence on the environment caused by
commit to user
3
their water due to the disregard the valuation of the environment because of the
need for higher income. From the previous researches that have been done and
posted on internet, and documented in many journals demonstrate that most
communities in most islands of Indonesia are suffering of getting a clean drinking
water during whole year and their farming especially within dry season. Because
of that, the study would be focused on that reason mentioned above especially the
SFR has become one of the main sources for watering and irrigation recently and
would be the source for human activities in hard circumstances. Therefore, SFRs
have to be observed to avoid damage to the public health.
The budgets were given to broaden the structure of Small on-Farm
Reservoirs at public or privet level in entire Indonesia or in Karanganyar Regency
to the acts of control was not effective to conserve of environments around the
SFR in Karanganyar Regency and entire country. The difficulties confronted by
the SFRs are the comparatively huge gathering of residue and water pollution as
results of corrosion of watersheds ending up to the SFRS and the disposal of
waste of cattle, domestic, and agricultural activity and also the press of water
hyacinth.
The problem in the SFR related to water hyacinth has become serious, due
to the percent of plants that covered the surface area of water.” For comparison,
0.5 hectares of water hyacinth can weigh more than 200 ton” (Yahia, 2010). The
weight huge of plants in the SFR would lessen the capacity of water, lowered the
percentage of oxygen in the water, and affected irrigation water. The abundant
quantity of the materials that aids the overgrowth of water hyacinth as organic
materials required for existence are rich. The OFRs’ surface will be most of it
covered with that plant, then; leads to become exceeded the secure limit of 5.
The doings of farming surround the SFRs are still considered the one of
the reason leads to this phenomenon by way of ingredients from composts like
commit to user
4
the SFRs. It brings many issues in the SFRs as it prompts the algae, bacteria, and
water plant to develop, and the decreasing of oxygen in the water starts.
1.2 Formulating the Research Problem
The effect on water quality from many sources as a waste water has
affected quality of water in the Small On-Farm Reservoirs (SFR). The high
concentrations of elements come by runoff from waste agriculture, cattle or other
drainage. The represent in N, P, and K fertilizer contribute to the overgrowth of
water hyacinth plant.
The water of Small On-Farm Reservoirs (SFR) comes from different
sources, such as runoff from farming lands, runoff from cattle waste (livestock),
runoff from domestic waste, from excess water from irrigated rice fields and also
domestic drainage channel for agriculture usages. Water from SFR then will be
used by farmers to irrigate their lands during dry days. The sources of water in
SFR will certainly affecting the water quality. When the water is using for crops,
it will also affecting the crop quality. Thus, the effects of the water quality in the
SFR from different sources needed to be evaluated.
1.3 Research Objectives
The objective of this research is to evaluate the water quality in SFR
which come from cattle wastes + runoff, farming land runoff, and road + rice field
drainage for agricultural purposes, based on Standards of Indonesia Regulation of
water quality (SNI), and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) .
1.4 Advantages of the Research
The consideration of this study is very significant to determine the issues
commit to user
5
quality of water based on sources surrounded with SFRs. This research is
important to inform the farmers that high rates of fertilization affect water quality
later. The benefits this research is also to provide data of water quality in the SFR.
This research is very essential to determine the water pollution issues in
the SFRs and their surrounding areas. From the research can get a real image on
the situation of water quality in linking with the pollutant contributed by fertilizers
usage in the activities of agriculture so that some engagements and qualification
plan can be considered to recover the water quality of the SFRs and surrounded
areas from being extremely contaminated.
The findings from this study will provide the data to water quality
monitoring in SFR and its surrounding environments. It is also hoped that the
findings and recommendations suggested in this study can be used as input in
managing the level of fertilizers usage in rice fields near water bodies around the
