Nowadays, saline water pollution is increasingly becoming a major global issue, especially in urban coastal areas. Saline water pollution has major impact on human life and livelihood. It´s mainly a result of static fossil water and the dynamics of sea water intrusion. The problem of saline water pollution caused by seawater intrusion has been increasing since the beginning of urban population. The problem of sea water intrusion in the urban coastal area must be anticipated as soon as possible especially in urban areas developed in coastal zones.

In view of this, this review article aims to: (i) analyse the distribution of saline water pollution in the Semarang urban coastal area in Indonesia and (ii) analyse some methods in controlling saline water pollution, especially due to seawater intrusion in urban coastal areas. The strength and weakness of each method were analysed and compared. This analysis involved assessing the impacts that result from applying (a) different pumping patterns, (b) artificial recharge, (c) an extraction barrier, (d) an injection barrier and (e) a subsurface barrier. The best methods were selected on the basis of their possible development in coastal areas of developing countries. The results showed that artificial recharge and extraction barrier are the most applicable methods in the area.