Playback ’94] The “Drought of the Heisei Era” that Dried Up Kagawa Prefecture with “0% Water Reservoir”: The Looming Crisis in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

What did “FRIDAY” report 10, 20, or 30 years ago? In “Playback Friday,” we take a look back at the topics that were hot at the time. This time, we will look back at the article “Shikoku’s Hell,” which even the Japan Meteorological Agency had resigned itself to, in the August 5, 1994 issue, which was published 30 years ago !What Will Happen to Japan in the Summer of Water Famine?

In 1994, in addition to the light rainfall since spring, the amount of precipitation during the rainy season was less than half that of a normal year in many parts of Japan. In addition, record high temperatures continued day after day in July and August, causing a “drought of the Heisei era” mainly in western Japan. The water shortage in Kagawa Prefecture in Shikoku was particularly critical (descriptions in parentheses below are taken from past articles).

Half of the city’s water supply is cut off for 24 hours a day.

We usually use about 5 tons of water a day. When we wash udon noodles, we have to use tap water. The owner of a Sanuki Udon store in Takamatsu City sighs bitterly.

The water shortage in Kagawa Prefecture is critical. The storage capacity of the Hayamaura Dam on the Yoshino River system, which supplies 65% of the drinking water for Takamatsu City, is 13.21 million tons as of July 20, 2012, with a storage rate of 7.6%. At this rate, the reservoir will be completely dry by July 23 or 24.

Finally, Takamatsu City implemented a “five-hour-a-day water supply” from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m., starting on the 15th. Citizens are said to be saving water by running out to buy polyethylene containers, wrapping dishes in plastic wrap for use, and stocking up on retort pouch foods. Some hotels, barbershops, and factories, including the famous udon noodle stores, which use large amounts of water, have closed their doors. Well digging has also been revived to secure water for agriculture.

The well-digging business peaked around 1955 and had almost disappeared by then, and a craftsman who dug a well for the first time in 10 years received as many as 10 requests in one week.

Kagawa Prefecture has always had little rainfall. That is why the Kagawa Irrigation Canal was built 19 years ago to draw water from the Yoshino River. However, there is no water in the upstream dam that carries water to this Kagawa Irrigation Canal. Even though the governor of Kagawa Prefecture asked the governor of Tokushima Prefecture to turn the water over to him, Tokushima Prefecture is also short of water. According to the prefecture’s drought task force, “If water from the Kagawa water supply were to be completely cut off, half of the city would be without water for 24 hours a day.

Meanwhile, the Tokyo metropolitan area, where the heat wave continued, was also facing a critical situation.

In the Tokyo metropolitan area, water withdrawal restrictions of 10% will be implemented in the Tone River system from the 2nd. The reservoir level of the Yagisawa Dam in Gunma Prefecture is 19% as of the 20th, and the lake level has dropped 25 meters. The water supply for Tokyo residents is currently being supplemented by the Tama River system, which is also at 75% (as of January 20), and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has set up a drought task force for the first time in four years.

The cause is a dry rainy season. If Tokyo were to become like Takamatsu, there have been no water trucks since the Tokyo Olympics, and we do not have much experience with droughts, so we cannot predict what kind of panic there will be” (River Coordination Division, Kanto Regional Construction Bureau).

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the forecast was for clear skies and low rainfall through August. There is a good chance that Tokyo will become a “desert” as well.

In the summer of 1994, water withdrawal was restricted in the Tone River system from July 22 to September 19. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government also restricted water supply by up to 15% from July 29 to September 8, but water was not cut off in the Kanto region except in some areas.

In Shikoku, Typhoon No. 7 made landfall on July 25, 1994, dumping heavy rain in the Shikoku region, which temporarily restored the dam’s water storage capacity slightly, but another heat wave finally brought the Hayamoura Dam’s water storage capacity to 0% on August 19. In Takamatsu City, the water supply was cut off until September 30. The most prolonged drought was in Fukuoka City, where the water level in the city’s dams had recovered to only about 30% by October 1994, and water was cut off for 295 days until June of the following year.

The drought is said to have been caused by an increase in the population using water and climate change due to global warming. In recent years, the effects of global warming have been more often associated with extreme heat and guerrilla downpours. In 2009, however, Hokkaido experienced a once-in-a-century drought that caused damage to crops. Japan is said to be a land of abundant rainfall, but its rivers are short and fast-flowing, making it difficult to secure water resources. One never knows when extreme weather conditions will bring another drought.