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Land subsidence and groundwater extraction in Bandung Basin, Indonesia

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 Trends and Sustainability of Groundwater in Highly Stressed Aquifers (Proc. of Symposium JS.2 at 145
the Joint IAHS & IAH Convention, Hyderabad, India, September 2009). IAHS Publ. 329, 2009.

Land subsidence and groundwater extraction in Bandung

Basin, Indonesia

HASANUDDIN Z. ABIDIN1, H. ANDREAS1, I. GUMILAR1,

S. WANGSAATMAJA2, Y. FUKUDA3 & T. DEGUCHI4
1 Geodesy Research Division, Institute of Technology Bandung, Jl. Ganesha 10, Bandung, Indonesia
hzabidin@gd.itb.ac.id
2 West Java Environment Protection Agency, West Java Provincial Government, Indonesia
3 Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
4 School Of Engineering, University Of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Abstract The Bandung Basin is a large intra-montane basin surrounded by volcanic highlands, in western
Java, Indonesia, inhabited by more than seven million people. The basin, an area of about 2300 km2, is a
highland plateau at approximately 650–700 m above sea level and is surrounded by up to 2400 m high Late
Tertiary and Quaternary volcanic terrain. Based on the results of six GPS surveys conducted in February
2000, November 2001, July 2002, June 2003, June 2005, and August 2008 it was shown that several
locations in the Bandung Basin have experienced land subsidence, with an average rate of about
–7.6 cm/year and can go up to about –23 cm/year in certain locations. A similar rate of subsidence was also
detected by the InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) technique between June 2006 and March
2007. A hypothesis has been proposed by several studies that land subsidence observed in several locations
in the Bandung Basin has been caused by excessive groundwater extraction. It is found that there is a strong
correlation between the rates of groundwater level lowering with the GPS-derived rates of land subsidence
in several locations in Bandung Basin, with a correlation coefficient of up to about 0.92. The GPS and
InSAR results in this study detected significant subsidence in the textile industry area, where very large
volumes of groundwater are usually extracted. Extensive conversion of prime agricultural areas into
residential and industrial areas, and also significant disturbance to the main ecological functions of the
upland around Bandung Basin, also significantly disturb the groundwater recharging system in the basin;
which in turn intensify subsidence problems there.
Key words Bandung; land subsidence; groundwater; GPS; InSAR

INTRODUCTION
Bandung is the capital of West Java province, Indonesia (Fig. 1). The city is surrounded by several
medium-sized towns, which together form the Greater Bandung area. It is surrounded by up to
2400 m high Late Tertiary and Quaternary volcanic terrain, some of which are still active, and
form the intra-montane basin known as the Bandung Basin. The basin, which is a highland plateau
at approx. 650 to 700 m above sea level lies in the catchment area of the upper Citarum River.
Mean annual temperature in the basin is about 23.7°C, and mean annual precipitation amounts to
about 1700 mm (Iwaco-Waseco, 1991). Deposits in the basin comprise of coarse volcaniclastics,
fluvial sediments and notably a thick series of lacustrine deposits.
The basin has an area of about 2300 km2 and includes five administrative areas, namely three
regencies (part of Bandung, West Bandung and Sumedang) and two cities (Bandung and Cimahi).
The central part of the basin, mostly comprising urban and industrial areas, is a plain measuring
about 40 km east–west and about 30 km north–south. The population in Bandung Basin is
currently more than 7 million people.
There are several types of land subsidence that can be expected to occur in the Bandung
Basin, namely subsidence due to groundwater extraction, subsidence induced by the load of
manmade constructions (i.e. settlement of highly compressible soil), subsidence caused by natural
consolidation of alluvium soil, and geotectonic subsidence. The detailed characteristics and
mechanisms of land subsidence are still relatively unknown.
Since information on land subsidence characteristics will be useful for managing many devel-
opmental and environmental aspects, systematic and continuous monitoring of land subsidence in
Bandung is obviously needed, and is critical to the welfare of the city. Comprehensive information
on land subsidence characteristics would be important for several tasks, such as spatial-based
Copyright © 2009 IAHS Press
146 Hasanuddin Z. Abidin et al.

Fig. 1 Location and pictures of Bandung, Indonesia.

groundwater extraction regulation, effective control of floods, conservation of environment, design

and construction of infrastructure, and spatial urban development planning in general.
In principle, the land subsidence phenomenon can be studied using several methods, such as
hydrogeology methods, e.g. groundwater level observation, extensometer measurement and
piezometer measurement, as well as by geodetic methods such as levelling surveys, GPS surveys
and InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) (Massonnet & Feigl, 1998; Sneed et al.,
2001; Bell et al., 2002; Ge et al., 2007). Subsidence phenomena in Bandung Basin has been
studied since 2000 using GPS surveys (Abidin et al., 2006) and also using InSAR since 2006
(Abidin et al., 2008). This paper discusses the relation between the observed land subsidence and
the groundwater extraction, and its related aspects.

Bandung Basin and its hydrogeologic features

Bandung Basin is a large intra-montane basin surrounded by volcanic highlands (Fig. 2). The
central part of the basin has an altitude of about 665 m and is surrounded by up to 2400 m high
Late Tertiary and Quaternary volcanic terrain (Dam et al., 1996). The catchment area of the basin
and surrounding mountains covers approx. 2300 km2, and the Citarum River with its tributaries
forms the main drainage system of the basin catchment. It is one of the largest watersheds on the
island of Java, which provides water for drinking, agriculture and fisheries, as well as the main
supply for three reservoirs (hydroelectric dams), with a total volume of about 6147 million cubic
metres (Wangsaatmaja, 2004).
Geologically speaking, the basin is mostly dominated by various Quaternary volcanic rocks
consisting of andesitic to dacitic lava, breccia, agglomerate, tuff, lahar, and intrusive rocks (Suhari
& Siebenhuner, 1993). The western flanks of the basin is occupied by older Tertiary sediments
comprising of sandstone, claystone, and limestone; while the younger alluvium and fluvial
sediment of reworked volcanic deposits are widespread in the centre of the basin (see Fig. 3). A
more detailed explanation of the geologic and morphologic setting of the Bandung Basin can also
be found in Dam et al. (1996).
On the basis of its hydraulic characteristics and its depth, the multi-layer aquifer configuration
of the Bandung Basin may be simplified into two systems (Soetrisno, 1996): shallow aquifers (a
few metres to around 40 m below the surface) and deep aquifers (more than 40 m to 250 m below
the surface). These aquifers are composed of volcanic products from the volcanic complexes that
bordered this basin, and lake sediments that were deposited when the central part of the basin was
a lake. The lake was fully formed about 50 000 years ago, and was drained away about 16 000
years ago (Dam et al., 1996).
 Land subsidence and groundwater extraction in Bandung Basin, Indonesia 147

Fig. 2 Bandung Basin and its surroundings.

0 10 km Fluviatil and limnic sediment

Fan deposits (volcanic pr oducts)
Nor th Undiffer entiated young volcanic pr oducts
Young volcanic pr oducts
Tuff fr om Mt. Tangkuban Per ahu and Mt. Dano
Lava and lahar of Mt. Patuha
Undiffer entiated old volcanic pr oducts
Older volcanic pr oducts
Intr usive r ocks (andesite and docite)
Tuffaceous br eccia, lava, sandstode etc.

Ter tiar y sediments sandstone, claystone, limestone

Fault (nor th of Bandung)

Fig. 3 Generalized geological sketch of Bandung Basin; after Suhari & Siebenhuner (1993).

The Bandung Basin encompasses five administrative units: Bandung city (municipality)
which is an urban area, 81 km2 in size, perched against the northern mountain range; the
surrounding Bandung regency; part of the Sumedang and West Bandung regencies; and the city of
Cimahi. The population of the Bandung municipality increased from less than 40 000 in 1906 to
nearly one million in 1961, and had grown to about two and a half million by 1995. The
population in Bandung Basin itself was about 3.4 million in 1986, became about 4.4 million in
1994, and in 2003 the population was about 5.9 million people. In addition, with expansion of
manufacturing and textile industries in Bandung Basin, urbanisation increased and in 2005 more
than 7 million people inhabited the basin. This increase in both population and industrial activity
in turn increased the degree of groundwater withdrawal from the aquifers in Bandung Basin, as
illustrated in Fig. 4. According to Wirakusumah (2006), about 60% of the total clean water
required in the Greater Bandung area (i.e. about 512 million cubic metres) are supplied by
groundwater; and the industry relies nearly 100% on groundwater resources.
148 Hasanuddin Z. Abidin et al.

90 3000

GROUNDWATEREXTRACTION
80
IN BANDUNGBASIN (1900 – 2005) 76.8 2628 2484
2397 2484 2500
: Groundwater extraction volume 2258
70 66.9 2401
Groundwater extraction volume (million m3)

2387 2154
: Number of wells 2225
61 2252 2237
60 58.5 2000
1978

50.1 50.6 51.4

50

Number of wells
50 48.1 1666 47.4
45.8 46.8 45.4 46.6 46.6
41.7 1500
38.6
40 1327

30 971 1000

821
18.7 686
20
500
10.5
10 6.3 7.3
4.6 4.9 300
3.2
0.5 1.6
58 78 96
0 5 15 30 42 45 0
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1976 1985 1988 1990 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Fig. 4 Registered groundwater extraction in Greater Bandung (1900–2005) from the deep aquifers
(40–250 m below the surface), adapted from Ruchijat (2006).

Data from the Industry and Trade Agency in Bandung City and Regency show that in 2003
there were 577 large and medium scale industries in Bandung Municipality, with a total number of
workers of about 103 000; while in Bandung and West Bandung Regencies there were 696
companies employing about 235 000 workers (Wangsaatmaja et al., 2006). Nearly 50% of these
industries are the textile industries which require large amount of water for their textile processing.
Since many of them are located in the areas with no piping infrastructure, the use of groundwater
becomes a cheap and attractive solution for these industries.
As shown in Fig. 4, groundwater extraction in the Bandung Basin has been recorded by the
Directorate of Environmental Geology since the early 1900s, when only 500 000 cubic metres per
year were extracted. By the 1970s the volume had grown to more than 10 Mm3/year, and even
grew to more than 38.5 Mm3/year in 1985, due to increased demand from the industrial sector and
a lack of effective water resource management by the government. By 1990, groundwater
abstraction reached 46.8 Mm3/year, and it was more than 50 Mm3/year by the end of 2005 with
more than 2100 wells (boreholes) in existence. The largest groundwater extraction occurred in
1996, when it reached 76.8 Mm3. In 1998, due to the regional economic crisis, there was a
decrease in groundwater taking, which is down to 41.7 Mm3 with 2397 registered boreholes.
Increased groundwater extraction has led to a rapid sinking of water tables on the plain
(Table 1), which in turn can cause land subsidence. During the 1980s, the average annual drop in
water tables in the basin was 1 m, and in the most heavily extracted areas annual drops of up to 2.5
m were recorded (Soetrisno, 1991). From 1980 to 2004, i.e. over about 24 years, the groundwater
level in the Bandung Basin has dropped by about 20 to 100 m, as shown in Table 1. This drop in
groundwater level has both spatial and temporal variations. Increased groundwater extraction will
also decrease well productivity, and has led to drastic changes in the time and direction of travel of
underground water (Braadbaart & Braadbaart, 1997). Continuous lowering of the groundwater
level in the industrial areas has considerably changed the flow characteristics of the groundwater
system, in which vertical downward leakage occurs almost across the entire Bandung Basin
(Soetrisno, 1996).

Land use in Bandung Basin

Generally, land use in Bandung Basin consists of urban, agriculture, industrial, and forest areas.
Since the 1980s the settlement areas have been expanding rapidly as population and the industrial
sector grows in Bandung Basin area, as illustrated by Fig. 5.
 Land subsidence and groundwater extraction in Bandung Basin, Indonesia 149

Table 1 Groundwater level decreases in several locations in the Bandung Basin; data from Wirakusumah
(2006) and Wangsaatmaja et al. (2006).
No. Location 1920 1980 1985 1995 2004
1. Cimahi +19 m +15 m –10 m –40 m –86 m
2. Kebon Kawung – +22 m – – –36 m
3. Rancaekek – +1 m – – –39 m
4. Lanud Sulaeman – +7 m – – –14 m
5. Dayeuh Kolot +4 m +2 m – – –55 m
6. Banjaran +2 m – – –20 m
7. Majalaya +3 m – – –41m

Fig. 5 Land use changes in Bandung Basin, adapted from Sampurno (2006). The main urban areas are
indicated as regions within the black circles.

Urban development in Bandung Basin and its surrounding areas has grown very rapidly in the
sectors of industry, trade, transportation, real estate and many others. This exponential increase in
urban development introduced several environmental problems, such as: (1) extensive conversion
of prime agricultural areas into residential and industrial areas; (2) significant change and
disruption to the main ecological functions of the surrounding upland areas of Bandung Basin as a
water recharge area for Bandung city; and (3) increase in groundwater extraction due to
development of industrial activities and high population increase. These negative impacts will
contribute to the groundwater level lowering inside Bandung Basin and in turn could introduce the
occurrence of land subsidence phenomena in several places.

Monitoring land subsidence in Bandung Basin

Theoretically, excessive groundwater extraction will lead to the deepening of groundwater level
(piezometric head), which in turn will cause land subsidence above it. Subsidence phenomena in
Bandung Basin have been studied since 2000 using GPS survey methods (Abidin et al., 2006) and
also using InSAR since 2006 (Abidin et al., 2008).
A GPS (Global Positioning System) is a passive, all-weather, satellite-based navigation and
positioning system, which is designed to provide precise three-dimensional position and velocity,
as well as time information on a continuous worldwide basis (Wells et al., 1986; Hofmann-
Wellenhof et al., 2007). With the GPS survey method several monuments, which are placed on the
ground covering the Bandung Basin and its surroundings, are accurately positioned relative to a
certain reference (stable) point, using the GPS survey technique. The precise coordinates of the
monuments are periodically determined using repeated GPS surveys at certain time intervals. By
150 Hasanuddin Z. Abidin et al.

studying the characteristics and rate of change in the height components of the coordinates from
survey to survey, the land subsidence characteristics can be derived. For monitoring land
subsidence, when the expected subsidence is of very small magnitude, the ideal positioning
accuracy to be achieved is at the mm level. In order to achieve this level of accuracy the GPS static
survey method based on dual-frequency carrier phase data processing should be implemented, with
stringent measurement and data processing strategies (Leick, 2004).
In order to study the land subsidence phenomena in the Bandung Basin, six GPS surveys have
been conducted in February 2000, November 2001, July 2002, June 2003, June 2005 and August
2008 (Table 2).

Table 2 GPS surveys for land subsidence monitoring in the Bandung Basin.
GPS Surveys Survey period Observation points
Survey-1 21–24 Feb. 2000 PSCA,BNJR,BJNS,CMHI,DYHK,MJL1,RCK1,RCK2,UJBR
Survey-2 21–30 Nov. 2001 PSCA,BRGA,BNJR,BJNS,CMHI,CPRY,DYHK,GDBG,
KPO1,KPO2,MJL1,MJL2,RCK1,RCK2,UJBR
Survey-3 11–14 July 2002 PSCA,BRGA,BNJR,BJNS,CMHI,CPRY,DYHK,GDBG,
KPO1,KPO2,MJL1,MJL2,RCK1,RCK2,UJBR,BM9L,
BM13L,BM18L,BM19L,BM30X,BM30L
Survey-4 1–3 June 2003 Same as in Survey-3, except BRGA
(monument was damaged)
Survey-5 24–27 June 2005 Same as in Survey-4, except BM9L, BM19L & BM30X
(monuments were missing or destroyed)
Survey-6 20–23 August 2008 Same as in Survey-5, except BJNS, CMHI, BM18L & B30R
(monuments were missing or destroyed), and add with new
stations, i.e. BM19L, 2430, 2431, ANTP, CKPD, GDB1, NP01,
NP21, P142

The surveys at all stations were carried out using dual-frequency geodetic-type GPS receivers.
In this case the PSCA station located inside the Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB) campus
was used as the reference point with known coordinates. For all GPS surveys, except for the first
survey, the length of sessions was between 10 to 12 hours. In the first GPS survey the length of
sessions was about 5–6 hours. The data were collected with a 30-second interval, and the elevation
mask was set to 15° for all stations. The surveys were carried out by the Geodesy Research
Division of ITB. Location of GPS stations used for studying land subsidence in Bandung Basin is
shown in Fig. 6. Based on the estimated ellipsoidal heights obtained from GPS processing, the
height differences between two consecutive survey epochs can be calculated. The estimated land
subsidence at several locations in Bandung Basin as derived from five GPS surveys (i.e. from
2000 to 2005) are given in Abidin et al. (2006, 2008)
Results from GPS show that land subsidence in Bandung has both temporal and spatial
variations as indicated by Figs 7 and 8. In general, rates of subsidence have a mean of about –7.6
cm/year, which can go up to about –23 cm/year (see Table 3). Several stations, e.g. CMHI,
DYHK, RCK2, GDBG, BM9L and BM18L (see Fig. 6), have higher subsidence rates compared to
others, namely around 12 to 23 cm/year. Stations CMHI, DYHK, RCK2 and GDBG are located in
the textile industry areas, where excessive groundwater extraction is expected to occur; while
BM9L and BM18L stations are located on the bank of the Citarum River. The results in Fig. 7 also
show that subsidence rates are not always linear. Several stations show a slowing down of
subsidence, while others do not.
The results obtained from InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) using ALOS/
PALSAR data also show that subsidence of over 12 cm occurred during the period between June
2006 and March 2007, near GPS stations CMHI, BM18L and BM19L (Abidin et al., 2008), as
shown in Fig. 8. From this image, it can be concluded that around the CMHI station, the phase
 Land subsidence and groundwater extraction in Bandung Basin, Indonesia 151

Fig. 6 Distribution of GPS points for studying land subsidence in the Bandung Basin. The PSCA
reference station is the northern most point in the figure.

Table 3 Statistics of subsidence rates in Bandung Basin (2000–2008).

n (sample size) Mean (cm/year) Standard dev. (cm/year) Min (cm/year) Max (cm/year)
59 –7.6 5.6 –0.14 –22.8

anomalies imply land subsidence during the 276 days that is equivalent to 15 cm (around 20
cm/year) in the look direction of the SAR sensor. If a conversion of look direction into ellipsoidal
normal is made, then this rate of subsidence around the CMHI station is in agreement with the
previous rates obtained from GPS surveys.
The above GPS and InSAR results indicate that the mechanism of land subsidence in the
Bandung Basin is not simple and may be caused by several factors, such as excessive groundwater
extraction, building load, sediment compaction, and tectonic activities.
Land subsidence in the Bandung Basin has spatial and temporal variation, and its
representation in the field can be observed in the form of ground lowering or fracturing, and other
structural deformation around the subsidence areas, as shown in Fig. 9.

LAND SUBSIDENCE AND GROUNDWATER EXTRACTION

A hypothesis has been proposed by several studies (Soetrisno, 1991; Braadbaart & Braadbaart,
1997; IGES, 2006) that land subsidence observed in several locations in the Bandung Basin has
been caused by excessive groundwater extraction. The two primary categories of groundwater
withdrawers in the basin are shallow well pumps and deep well pumps. The majority of shallow
wells are used for domestic purposes, while deep wells are operated by the regional water
company or by private firms such as textile industries, manufacturing companies and hotels
(Braadbaart & Braadbaart, 1997).
Correlation between land subsidence and groundwater extraction can be done by utilizing the
registered groundwater extraction volume and the observed groundwater level. In the case of the
correlation with groundwater extraction, Abidin et al. (2006, 2008) have shown that the GPS-
152 Hasanuddin Z. Abidin et al.

BNJR BJNS CMHI DYHK MJL1 RCK1 RCK2 UJBR

BNJR CMHI MJL1 RCK2 BRGA GDBG
BJNS DYHK RCK1 UJBR CPRY KPO2
0 0
-1.7 -1.1 -0.1
Subsidence rate (cm/year)

-3.1 -2.5 -3.0

-5 -5 -3.8 -4.2
-5.4
-10 -8.7 -8.1
-9.2 -10
-12.1 -11.9
-15 -15
-14.8
-20 -18.8 -18.0 -17.6 -18.2
-20
-22.8
Bandung (Feb.2000 - Nov.2001) Bandung (Nov.2001 – July 2002)
-25
-25
BNJR CMHI MJL1 UJBR KPO1 MJL2 BM13L BM19L
0 BJNS DYHK RCK2 GDBG KPO2 BM9L BM18L BM30L

-0.8
Subsidence rate (cm/year)

-5 -3.3 -3.0 -3.4

-4.1
-6.1 -6.1 -5.7 -5.6
-10 -7.0
-8.2
-10.2
-15
-15.7 -15.9
-16.8
-20
-19.1
Bandung (July 2002 – June 2003))
-25
BNJR CMHI DYHK RCK1 RCK2 GDBG KPO1 KPO2 MJL2 BM13LBM18L BNJR CPRYDYHKGDBGKPO1 KPO2 MJL1 MJL2 M13L RCK1 RCK2 UJBR
0 0
-1.3 -0.5 -0.7
-1.7
Subsidence rate (cm/year)

-5 -3.2 -5 -2.2
-4.4 -4.0 -3.7
-5.1 -5.2
-6.9 -6.9 -6.5 -5.9
-8.1 -7.1
-10 -10 -8.5
-10.3 -10.0 -10.1 -10.5
-10.9
-15 -15

-20 -20
Bandung (June 2003 – June 2005) Bandung (June 2005 – August 2008)
-25 -25

Fig. 7 Temporal and spatial variation of subsidence rates (cm/year) in Bandung Basin during the period
February 2000 to August 2008.

Fig. 8 InSAR-derived subsidence in Bandung Basin from 3 June 2006 to 6 March 2007 (about 9
months). One cycle of phase (2π) is about 11.8 cm (half the wavelength of the L-band). The areas with
relatively significant subsidence are within the circles, pointed out by the arrows.
 Land subsidence and groundwater extraction in Bandung Basin, Indonesia 153

(a) (b) (c)

(d) (e) (f)

Fig. 9 Examples of subsidence features in the field, adapted from Ruchijat (2006). (a) Ground lowering
in the Rancaekek area (around RCK2 GPS stations); (b) and (f) hanging wall and structural cracking in
the Leuwigajah area (around CMHI GPS station); (c) ground lowering in the Ujungberung area (around
UJBR GPS station); (d) Differential subsidence in the Gedebage area (around GDBG GPS station);
(e) structural cracking around DYHK GPS station.

derived land subsidence does not always have a positive correlation with the registered volume of
groundwater extraction around the corresponding GPS stations (i.e. inside 1 km radius). This fact
could imply two things; firstly the registered groundwater extraction volume does not reflect the
real groundwater use, and secondly the amount of land subsidence is also influenced by other
factors, such as the different geological structures and soil compressibility at the observed
locations. In the case of the Bandung Basin both reasons may be valid.
According to Hutasoit (2008), the registered groundwater extraction volume is just about 30%
of the actual amount. In 1995, the illegal extraction of groundwater was estimated to be 120% of
the registered volume (Soetrisno, 1996). Moreover, from evidence found in the field, the
significant InSAR-observed subsidence shown in Fig. 8 is located in the textile industry area. It is
known that the textile industry usually extracts very large volumes of groundwater.
Excessive groundwater extraction will generally lower the groundwater level in the
corresponding area. In general, the groundwater level inside Bandung Basin has significantly
lowered compared to its level before the 1980s (see previous Table 1). Theoretically, it can be
expected that subsidence of certain areas will have a positive correlation with the lowering of the
groundwater level. The example in Figs 10 and 11 shows that this correlation does exist in the
Rancaekek area.
More comparison results given in Table 4 and Fig. 12 show that indeed there is a strong
correlation between the rates of groundwater level lowering with the rates of land subsidence in
certain location in Bandung Basin. If the maximum groundwater lowering rates are considered,
then correlation up to 0.92 is obtained, as shown in Fig. 12.
However, since these correlations are only performed at several locations in Bandung Basin,
further research is needed to clarify the real correlation pattern between land subsidences,
groundwater extraction volume and groundwater level in the Bandung Basin. More geodetic and
hydrogeological data are needed in order to gain greater insight into land subsidence and
groundwater characteristics in the Bandung Basin.
154 Hasanuddin Z. Abidin et al.

Feb.2000 Nov.2001 July 2002 June 2003 June 2005 Aug.2008

0
GPS-derived subsidence of station : RCK2
-10 Total subsidence rate : 7.4 cm/year
Subsidence (cm)

-20
-30
-40
= 63.3 cm
-50
-60
-70 about 8.5 year

Fig. 10 Subsidence of the RCK2 station located in the Rancaekek area from 2000 to 2008.

Fig. 11 Indication of groundwater level fall in the Rancaekek area, adapted from Wirakusumah (2006).

Table 4 Comparison of rates between groundwater level lowering and land subsidence in several locations
in Bandung Basin. Closest GPS station around the groundwater level observation is used for comparison.
Groundwater level lowering rate, Average subsidence rate
adapted from Ruchijat (2006) (from GPS surveys)
Area Rate (m/year) Period GPS station Rate (cm/year) Period
North Cimahi 1.3–8.0 1994–2004 CMHI –15.1 2000–2005
South Cimahi 0.2–3.2 1994–2004
Dayeuh Kolot ≈ 2.4 1980–2004 DYHK –12.0 2000–2008
0.2–4.1 1994–2004
Rancaekek 0.5–4.2 1993–2004 RCK2 –7.4 2000–2008
Cileunyi 2.3–2.8 2000–2004 RCK1 –5.3 2000–2008
Banjaran 0.3–2.5 1989–2004 BNJR –5.6 2000–2008
Majalaya ≈ 1.8 1980-2004 MJL1 –6.3 2001–2003
Ciparay 0.4–1.6 1992–2004 CPRY –3.0 2001–2002
Ujung Berung 0.2–0.5 1994–2004 UJBR –3.6 2001–2003
 Land subsidence and groundwater extraction in Bandung Basin, Indonesia 155

10
Groundwater level lowering rate (m/ year)
5

-5
ρ = 0.92
-10
Land subsidence rate (cm/ year)
-15

-20
CMHI DYHK RCK2 RCK1 BNJR MJL1 CPRY UJBR
Fig. 12 Correlation between the maximum groundwater level lowering rates and land subsidence rates
in several locations in Bandung Basin. The correlation coefficient, ρ = 0.92.

Fig. 13 Location of GPS stations CMHI and DYHK in the areas of textile industries.

CONCLUSION
In the case of land subsidence in the Bandung Basin, excessive groundwater extraction is
hypothesized as being the main cause. However, the comparison between GPS-derived subsidence
rates and the registered groundwater extraction volume for the period February 2000 to July 2002,
indicates that this hypothesis is not always true. This may be due to the large volume of
unregistered groundwater extraction in the Bandung Basin, as well as to the possibility that land
subsidence is also caused by other factors such as construction load, natural consolidation and
geotectonic phenomena.
The comparison between the GPS-derived subsidence rates and the observed groundwater
level lowering rates, however, indicates that there is a strong correlation between the two
variables, with a correlation coefficient of up to 0.92. The InSAR technique also detected that
significant subsidence occurred in the textile industry area, where very large volumes of
groundwater are usually extracted. This InSAR result supports the hypothesis that excessive
groundwater extraction has led to subsidence in the corresponding area. Figure 13 shows an
example that the GPS stations with large subsidence rates (see Table 4), e.g. CMHI and DYHK,
are located in the areas with many textile industries, where the huge volumes of groundwater are
expected to be withdrawn.
 156 Hasanuddin Z. Abidin et al.

Finally it should be mentioned that further research is still needed to clarify the real
mechanism and pattern of land subsidence in Bandung Basin. In this regard, besides carefully
considering all possible factors influencing subsidence in Bandung Basin, the GPS and InSAR
derived results should also be integrated with results obtained by other monitoring techniques such
as absolute gravity, leveling and automatic water level recorders. Comparison between incident
rainfall with time and observed land subsidence, and the delay between rainfall and water entering
the water table should also be studied in order to gain a better insight into the relation between
land subsidence and groundwater characteristics in Bandung Basin.

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