Ciliwung

River in Java, Indonesia

The Ciliwung (often written as Ci Liwung as the "ci" prefix simply translates as "river"; also as Tjiliwoeng in Dutch, Sundanese: ᮎᮤᮜᮤᮝᮥᮀ) is a 119km long river in the northwestern region of Java where it flows through two provinces, West Java and the special region of Jakarta. The natural estuary of the Ciliwung River, known as the Kali Besar ("Big River"), was an important strategic point for trade in the precolonial and colonial periods and was instrumental in the founding of the port city of Jakarta, but has been lost from a reorganization of the watercourse of the rivers around the area into canals.

The etymology of Ciliwung is uncertain; the two least implausible assumptions are "the whirlpool" (compare Sundanese liwung "be distressed, upset") or "the meandering one" (compare Malay liuk, liut "to twist"). It is possible that the name originated from one of the many epithets of the king of Pajajaran Sri Baduga Maharaja, among them is Prabu Haliwung, so named because of his temperamental attitude. The name "Ci Haliwung" was recorded on the map of C. M. Pleyte (1919).

The Ci Liwung is 119 km long with a catchment area of 476 km2. The Ciliwung River has its source at Mandalawangi in Bogor Regency with the highest peak at 3,002 m. The river flows in a northern direction passing several active volcanoes, Mount Salak, Mount Kendeng, and Mount Halimun, and crosses two main cities Bogor and Jakarta before finally flowing into the Java Sea through Jakarta Bay. The main tributaries in the upper catchment area are the Ciesek and Ciluar rivers with respective lengths of 9.7 km and 21.0 km, with catchment areas of 27.15 km2 and 35.25 km2 respectively. The Ciliwung River basin has a narrow and elongated shape. The 17.2 km length of the upstream area has a very steep slope (0.08), The 25.4 km length in the middle reach has a slope of 0.01, and the downstream, 55 km in length, has a flat slope of 0.0018. In general, the geology the upstream of Ciliwung River basin is dominated by Tuffaceous Breccia and older deposits of lahar and lava. The middle reach consists mainly of Quaternary period alluvial fans and volcanic rocks. The downstream area is dominated by alluvial and beach ridge deposits. Mean rainfall reaches 3,125 mm, with a mean annual discharge of 16 m3/s as measured at Ciliwung Ratujaya observation station (231 km2). With such topographical, geological, and hydrological features, the Ciliwung River is often overflowing and inundating parts of Jakarta. The population along the Ciliwung River basin reaches 4.088 million (Census 2000) which can be regarded as the most densely populated area. On December 19, 2013, a contract to build water tunnel(s) to the East Flood Canal from the Ciliwung River with a minimum capacity of 60 cubic meters per second was signed by the Public Works Ministry. So, the floods in East Jakarta to the north and along the Ciliwung River will be eased.

The Ciliwung River Basin has been populated at least since the 4th century. Two kingdoms were founded along the Upper Ciliwung in Bogor; Tarumanegara (4th 5th Century) with its King Purnawarman and Sunda (15th 16th Century) with its King Sri Baduga. The existence of these Kingdoms is found in ancient inscriptions at Ciaruteun (Tarumanagara) and Batutulis (Padjajaran). Among the many epithets of the king Sri Baduga Maharaja, was Prabu Haliwungan so called because of his temperamental attitude. The river Ci Haliwung or Ci Liwung was probably named after the king's epithet. The name Ci Haliwung or Tji Haliwoeng was recorded in the map of C. M. Pleyte (1919). During the rise of the Hindu Kingdom of Sunda, Ciliwung became an important means of transportation for the kingdom. To protect Sunda Kelapa from the Islamic Sultanate of Cirebon and Demak, Prabu Surawisesa (recorded by the Portuguese as Samian) was instructed by the king to sign a peace treaty with the Portuguese to trade in pepper in exchange for permission to build a fort to protect the main port of Sunda Kalapa. The pact was immortalized in a 1522 padrão. Despite the treaty, the Portuguese failed to construct the fort in the given year. The padrão of Sunda Kelapa was found by Fatahillah, commander of the Sultanate of Demak, and fell into the Ciliwung without any ceremony. The padrão will only be rediscovered in 1918.

Sunda Kelapa was used as the main port by the Dutch (1619) who constructed a fort at the east bank of the estuary and founded Batavia, the largest city and the capital of the East Indies Empire until the city was transformed into Jakarta after the independence of Indonesia. Sultanate of Banten (1527) In 2014, the Audit Board of Indonesia released a four year audit of the river and found that seventeen separate companies had been polluting its waters, submitting a report to the police. Indonesian Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) has a separate Ciliwung Cisadane River Region Center (BBWSCC). DKI Jakarta Provincial Government and BBWSCC have an agreement on the normalization of some rivers in Jakarta. The DKI Provincial Government is tasked with freeing land for normalization needs to be carried out by BBWSCC. A restoration project is undertaken to widen and water flow of the river. The restoration project is divided into four sections with a total length of about 19 km, extending from Manggarai to the Jl. TB Simatupang area in South Jakarta. Ciliwung will also be widened from the present 25 meters up to 40 – 50 meters. It is expected that the water flow will increase from the current 200 cubic meters per second to 570 cubic meters per second.

A coordination meeting on January 20, 2014, among the Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Environment, Jakarta Governor, Bogor Mayor, Bogor Regent, and Ciliwung Cisadane Rivers Control Office agreed to build Ciliwung to Cisadane River to ease Ciliwung debit when Cisadane is not in flood condition. The tunnel is 2.9 kilometers long and diameter of six meters.

The Ciliwung River flows through two provinces, West Java and the Special Region of Jakarta. Two main races dominate the region namely, the Sundanese (West Java) in southern Ciliwung and Orang Betawi (Jakarta) in northern Ciliwung. Culture in the Bogor area is mainly Sundanese, such as can be observed in traditional dances, the Ketuk Tilu, or the Jaipongan which is modern, sensual, and full of spirit. Specific Sundanese music can be observed from the Degung, Calung, Angklung, and Kecapi suling. The culture of Jakarta can be seen in the Yapong dance and Gambang kromong , as well as Kroncong music, which can still be found at Tugu, north of Jakarta. Also famous is a humorous play, the Lenong, using a special Betawi dialect.

The section of Ciliwung in Jakarta is heavily polluted. Informal settlements or slums flourished on the banks of Ciliwung, increasing the amount of waste and reducing the surface area of the river. Some canals were completely blocked by slums and people created informal gardens inside by drying the canal. Water maintenance and ecological awareness are minimal. Other sources of pollution originate from agricultural runoff of upstream river users and industrial pollution. Flooding is a problem in Ciliwung. With many of the original forests converted into settlements around the Puncak area, the flooding has worsened each year. In 2012, the government of Indonesia announced a 20 year plan to clean up the Ciliwung River, which kicked off with a $10 million restoration project that will include the construction of a waste processing facility in 2013 and an education centre for riverside communities. The city administration now hires over 4000 workers to regularly clean the city’s rivers, canals, lakes, and coastal areas. Ex Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama also plans to turn parts of the Ciliwung riverbank into a tourist site.