“Honestly, I did not expect this at all. When I received the invitation to attend the award ceremony, it felt surreal, especially finding out I had won second place among participants ranging from professionals and PhD holders to students,” Nazwa said.

Speaking to uns.ac.id on Tuesday (22/10/2024), Nazwa explained that her design focused on addressing critical issues in Genuk District, Semarang. The area faces several challenges, including frequent tidal flooding due to its coastal location and land subsidence, a lack of water absorption areas, and the accumulation of waste.

“We started by identifying the critical issues in Genuk District, Semarang, where tidal flooding frequently occurs. This is due to the area’s coastal topography and land subsidence caused by excessive groundwater extraction. In addition, waste buildup has diminished the area’s absorption capacity, exacerbating the flooding,” Nazwa explained.

Together with a colleague from Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Nazwa designed a system featuring retention ponds equipped with automated nets and plastic waste shredders, which are sensor-based, to address both flooding and waste management issues simultaneously.

At this time, Nazwa does not have immediate plans to implement the innovation, as her participation in the competition was limited to the creation of a blueprint. However, she hopes the design can serve as a recommendation in the future.

“I hope this innovation can serve as a useful recommendation for the government, considering that several spatial planning problems require systematic solutions. This competition was organized by Distaru Semarang, and hopefully, this innovation can provide a positive contribution as a recommendation for waste management during floods in Semarang,” Nazwa added.

HUMAS UNS

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