This area is built by the Dinas PU Pengairan in 1974. Unlike other lakes which are generally hot. Forest plants grow stoutly along the lakeside and are prohibited from being cut down. This is what makes the panorama beautiful and provides cool air in this region. This lake in the Way Jepara sub-district, East Lampung, originally only covered 5 hectares. The government sees its potential to be used to irrigate rice fields in its downstream area. So, in 1972 the reservoir was expanded to around 200 hectares.
Lake Jepara was transformed into a reservoir as a further step in the construction of 25 kilometers of irrigation canals in the 1960s. At that time, the irrigation project was able to irrigate nine thousand hectares of rice fields. However, along with the decline in water flow, now the lake is only able to irrigate 1,800 hectares of rice fields. It can be 4,500 hectares, but it must rotate water use, as it is now applied. In the past, the existence of Lake Jepara with its irrigation channels made this area that was once Central Lampung Regency as a food barn. But now, Way Jepara Subdistrict is known as the TKI granary.
At the watergate control dams, there are several building units. There are open halls, offices, and houses of guards who open small shops. Facilities and equipment for controlling dams are well maintained. In front of the water control building, a water depth measuring tower stands firmly. The tower is embedded in the bottom of the lake 35 meters deep. Near the water elevation measuring tower, protruding into the middle of the lake, there is a floating karamba.
Since the last ten years, the water discharge of this reservoir has continued to shrink. As a result, 4,500 hectares of rice fields in three sub-districts: Way Jepara, Braja Slebah, and Labuhanratu, are in danger of being unable to be planted. Lake Jepara water comes from three rivers. Namely Way Abar, Way Jejawai, and Way Jepara, which head up at Register 38 of Mount Balak and Gunung Mas. Now the three rivers are only able to supply 10 million cubic meters of water. In fact, to irrigate 6,000 hectares of rice fields, at least 21 million cubic meters are needed. Getting around the declining water flow, since 2007 the East Lampung Pengairan Service has been forced to apply rotating cropping patterns. The location is only about 100 kilometers from Bandar Lampung, the provincial capital.
