The Brantas River which flows through the UMM Campus III complex is partly used to irrigate rice fields in Tegalgondo and surrounding areas, with the sluice gates at the Dam of Sengkaling.
Routinely the irrigation channel of 1¼ m supplies water from Brantas River passing through areas around the campus.
From a small irrigation ditch there are some streams which flow to the UMM campus land which is the Experimental Farm complex of Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries.
Starting from the water flows through irrigation channel, water is borrowed to generate electricity-producing turbines in PLTMH of Sengkaling-I, which is located in the Agro complex of University of Muhammadiyah Malang.
The technology applied is quite simple.
Water in irrigation channels (intake) are accommodated in a container pool called a forebay.
Subsequent storage of water then is flowed through a large pipe called penstock.
Penstock with a diameter of 70 cm, length of 57 m is placed in the ground with a slope of 40º to the power house where the generator is located.
Height difference between container pool and power house is 15 m.
In the power house, water will turn the turbine which drives the 160 kW (read: Kilo Watt) generator.
Electricity power generated from the generator flowed into ELC that is Electric Load Control then can be used directly to supply electrical energy of UMM buildings.
Remaining water which drives the turbine will be channeled back into Brantas river which means PLTMH is only temporary borrowing water flow without reducing a bit.
At present, electric power is 100 KW (read: Kilo Watt) in the rainy season and it will decline to about 70 KW at 2 months during the dry season.
The electricity power of those watts has been able to meet the energy needs of electricity to some lectures and office buildings.
This is a monumental achievement from the result of research and development co-operation of new renewable energy between Research and Development Agency for Energy and Mineral Resources, Energy and Mineral Resources Department of the Republic of Indonesia with the University of Malang.
This achievement has not been equaled by any other universities in Indonesia.
UMM has become the only pioneer university when it comes to the implementation of PLTMH independently in which then it will save electric power nationally and even the world.
