DENPASAR ~

Local legislator Bali Nyoman Tirtawan urged the government to review and assess the existence of Lake Buyan and Tamblingan in Buleleng which getting silting.

“The government should review the silting case of both lakes. There are several factors as the trigger, one of them is communities around the lake plant vegetables using inorganic fertilizer,” he said in Denpasar on Wednesday.

He said that if it is left unchecked and there is no concern of all parties, the lake’s capacity will be reduced and affect on the surrounding environment.

“I expect the government to think of an appropriate solution to prevent damage to the environment around the lake,” he said.

He said the government should require existing vegetable farmers around the lake to use organic fertilizers, so the land is not damaged.

“If the farmers use inorganic fertilizers, then the land around the lake will be damaged and waste will become pollutant for the lake,” he said.

Buyan Lake has an area of 3.9 square kilometers with a depth of about 87 meters, while Tamblingan only has 1.9 square kilometers wide with a depth of 90 meters.

Lake Buyan and Tamblingan are two adjoining lakes look like twins, separated only a narrow groove between them.

Both lakes are in Sukasada District (Buleleng) at an altitude of 1,000 meters above sea level. At the beginning the lake was one, because one of rock avalanche occurred in 1818, making this lake separated into two.