Potential and Challenges of Karst Water Resources in Sumbermanjing Wetan District of Malang Regency

Abstract

Abstract Water is one of the primary needs of all living things. In order to figure out the potential of water resources, we need to conduct a study about water supply. This study of water resources was conducted in Sumbermanjing Wetan district located in the southern part of Malang Regency. This study is limited to the initial review of the existence of potency water resources in the study area, without including a quantitative aspect of the water resources. The first identification was collecting the data of water resources found in Sumbermanjing Wetan, and then analyze them descriptively. This step was to figure out the potential and challenges of water resources in Sumbermanjing Wetan. The result of this study showed that there were water resources in the form of spring, surface water, and subterranean river. The big volume of spring had been used by the people to fulfill their daily needs. However, the changing of the karst landscape had produced pollution around the settlement. Besides, there was volume decreasing of the spring, and so was the water supply for the people. The people could make use of other water resources such as the subterranean river that flow a whole year to overcome the problem. The most potential subterranean rivers are in Mbah Wajib Cave, Limbah Cave, Krompyang Cave, Kedung Pitu Cave, and Emas Cave.