Universitas Negeri Semarang has a rainwater storage pond located in the area of the Faculty of Languages and Arts (FBS). This pool is named Embung FBS UNNES. This pond is to the east of FBS and is right next to the Ulul Albab UNNES Mosque which faces directly to Jalan Taman Siswa, Sekaran. The FBS reservoir was built in 2010 with an area of approximately 900m2 and a depth of approximately 3 meters.
This reservoir was built at that location, of course, for an obvious reason. The area around the location of this reservoir is the lowest point on the west campus of UNNES, so that the waterways from the Faculty of Languages and Arts (FBS), Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA), Science House, Archive Building, Auditorium, Rectorate, and Entrepreneurship Building can directly to the pond. This is so that the water can be absorbed by the soil in the campus area before flowing into the river. In other words, this reservoir provides benefits as a source of groundwater reserves. In addition, this reservoir is also able to reduce flooding in the Jalan Taman Siswa area. Besides the various things above, the existence of this reservoir can also reduce hot air around the campus.
Besides being beneficial for the environment, this reservoir is also useful for students, academics, and the surrounding community. In the middle of the reservoir, there is a gazebo with a fairly large size. This gazebo is built solidly and equipped with a roof so that it avoids direct sunlight. This gazebo can be accessed from FBS via a connecting bridge. Apart from the gazebo, beside the pond there are also several long chairs that have been installed there. These seats are accessible by foot. The scenery presented around the reservoir is also quite beautiful and soothing to the eye and the calm atmosphere makes the pond very suitable as a place to relax or just to unwind.
The calm atmosphere in this pond often makes the pond a place to relax or calm down for students, especially FBS students. Not infrequently, students also often use the gazebo in the embung as a place to gather and hold meetings or to do assignments together. The available long chairs are also often used as a place to relax or a place to sit together and chat with friends or loved ones. These chairs are also sometimes used by students to simply sit and rest before returning to continue their next activities on campus.
For the surrounding community, this reservoir is often used as a place for family recreation. Usually people go to the pond in the afternoon to just enjoy the view and relax in the area. Not infrequently, the area around the pond is also used as an area for jogging, both for students and the community around the campus. The surrounding community often uses the long chairs around the pond compared to the gazebo in the middle of the pond. This is because access to a lounger is easier than access to a gazebo and is safer for children, especially toddlers.
This reservoir is regularly cleaned by UNNES employees. This cleaning is carried out by removing sediment that has accumulated at the bottom of the reservoir and cleaning up the trash that is on the surface of the water and at the bottom of the reservoir. For trash around the pond, cleaning is done with a shorter period of time. The employees also clean the water in the pond when the water is greenish in color and filled with algae and smells bad. This cleaning is of course carried out in order to maintain the comfort of visitors and the surrounding community and so that its functions continue to run as it should.
