Water balance and irrigation water pumping of Lake Merdada for potato farming in Dieng Highland, Indonesia.

Lakes provide water resources for domestic use, livestock, irrigational use, etc. Water availability of lakes can be estimated using lake water balance. Lake water balance is calculated from the water input and output of a lake. Dieng Highland has several volcanic lakes in its surroundings. Lake Merdada in Dieng Highland has been experiencing extensive water pumping for several years more than other lakes in the surrounding area. It provides irrigation water for potato farming in Dieng Highland. The hydrological model of this lake has not been studied. The modeled water balance in this research uses primary data, i.e., bathymetric data, soil texture, and outflow discharge, as well as secondary data, i.e., rainfall, temperature, Landsat 7 ETM+ band 8 image, and land use. Water balance input components consist of precipitation on the surface area, surface (direct) runoff from the catchment area, and groundwater inflow and outflow (G net), while the output components consist of evaporation, river outflow, and irrigation. It shows that groundwater is the dominant input and output of the lake. On the other hand, the actual irrigation water pumping plays the leading role as human-induced alteration of outflow discharge. The maximum irrigation pumping modeling shows that it will decrease lake storage up to 37.14 % per month and may affect the ecosystem inside the lake.