VZCZCXRO1122
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJS #0037 2620113
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 190113Z SEP 07
FM AMCONSUL SURABAYA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0052
INFO RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA PRIORITY 0049
RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0004
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0003
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0054

UNCLAS SURABAYA 000037 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS AND EB/ESC/IEC 
DEPT FOR DS/IP/EAP 
DOE FOR CUTLER/PI-32 AND NAKANO/PI-42 
COMMERCE FOR USDOC 4430 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EINV EPET ELAB ENRG PGOV ASEC ID
SUBJECT: EAST JAVA: LAPINDO MUD UPDATE: HYDROGEN SULPHIDE LEVELS AND 
RIVER BOTH RISE, RESIDENT THREATENS DYKE 
 
REF: A. A) JAKARTA 2375 
 
     ¶B. B) SURABAYA 26 (and previous) 
 
THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE PROTECT 
ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Sofian Hadi, Director of Operations for the Sidoarjo 
Mud Management Agency (BPLS), told Consulate Surabaya September 
18 that hydrogen sulfide gas levels at the mud flow site in 
Sidoarjo had increased to 30 -- 35 ppm (parts per million), 
levels considered dangerous to human health. It has since fallen 
to 21 ppm.  Soffian explained that "healthy" levels are below 20 
ppm.  BPLS spokesman Ahmad Zulkarnaen told the press that BPLS 
had been forced to evacuate workers when the gas levels spiked 
last week.  A four-member medical team operating out of an 
ambulance at the site told visiting Foreign Area Officer in late 
August that they were seeing an average of 10 patients per day, 
mostly for respiratory complaints caused by mud flow gases. 
Sofian told us that he was called to Jakarta this week for talks 
with the Ministry of Public Works and Parliament about current 
conditions at the disaster site. 
 
Porong River Level Rising as Sedimentation Increases 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Sofian said mud sedimentation in the nearby Porong 
River is now a critical concern.  According to Sofian, BPLS's 
strategy of pushing mud into the Porong river has deposited 2.5 
meters of solid sedimentation on to the river bottom, causing 
the water level to rise upriver and slowing the river's flow 
rate to only 3 cubic meters per second as compared to 1,000 -- 
1,500 cubic meters per second during the rainy season.  Rainy 
season demands on the river's banks at current sedimentation 
levels have yet to be tested and experts are predicting the 
water levels will exceed the height of existing river banks 
flooding villages and agricultural land.  To forestall flooding, 
BPLS plans to install an additional dredger to clear this mud 
and push the mud east toward the sea. Sofian said the dredgers 
will be operational within the next two weeks.  BPLS does not 
yet have any idea about the potential effectiveness of this plan 
and when results might be seen.  One skeptic, Nurul Ahdi, 
Secretary General of the Sidoarjo environment council, was 
 
SIPDIS 
quoted by Suara Surabaya Radio as saying that the dredgers will 
not be able to handle mud sedimentation in Porong River. 
 
Local Village Leader Holds Dyke Hostage 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  Local news reported today that head of the partially 
submerged village of Kedungbendo threatened to destroy a nearby 
dam if compensation payments were not released to him as 
promised. Many residents who qualify for compensation have seen 
delays in disbursement due red tape. 
 
MCCLELLAND