Friend or Foe

There are four main river basins in Brunei: Temburong, Belait, Tutong and Brunei. The Temburong, the smallest of the rivers, drains a catchment area of about 430 km2 (nearly the whole of the Temburong district), directly into the Brunei Bay.

The critical point along this river is somewhere at Bangar town itself where the hilly terrain suddenly open up into a flood plain. This is the point where if the water level in the river is high enough it would start to spill over the river bank and flood the surrounding area hence this is called a flood plain. In agricultural term, this is a great way for the flood plain, which is normally converted to agricultural area, to receive much needed nutrients. This is what normally occurs in the flood plains all over the world. The problem only starts when this area became populated and the flooding becomes more of an inconvenience. This is exactly what happened to Bangar last month. A natural phenomena, but because of human presence, is treated as an unwelcome disaster.

The amount of water that poured that night could be estimated. It was reported that an average of 267mm of rain was recorded, meaning a total water volume of some 115 million cubic metres of water passed through Temburong river the following days. This water can actually be used for other purpose if contained. Sometimes ago a feasibility study indicate Temburong river, because of its valley character, as an ideal location for a hydroelectric dam to generate electricity. It awaits for some brave decision makers to say go. Not an easy decision as it will affect a large track of the Temburong pristine forest. But then Brunei can not just rely on oil and gas for its future energy need. Sooner or later a decision has to be made.