A Pledge to Connect Water: The Shaky Times for Japan's Water Supply (2020s)

A Pledge to Connect Water: The Shaky Times for Japan's Water Supply (2020s)
Japan's waterworks network, which once quietly supplied people with water as a source of life, is now secretly facing a crisis.
The facilities built during Japan's period of rapid economic growth are showing their age, with more than 17% of pipes nationwide having reached the end of their useful life.
Demand for water is also quietly declining. In rural areas, the human presence is dwindling and income is dwindling.

In addition, the craftsmen who have supported the technology are approaching retirement one after another.
The government has been enjoying the blessings of cheap water, but the cost of renewing it is not enough, and its ability to withstand disasters is shaken.
Under the banner of wide-area cooperation and outsourcing to the private sector, the government has begun to reorganize more than 30% of the water supply systems by 2040.

The city of Sendai is working hand in hand with its neighbors to protect the future of its water supply system.
Based on the lessons learned from the earthquake and tsunami, the city is focusing on improving efficiency through consolidation and replacing pipes with earthquake-resistant ones, and establishing emergency water supply centers.

Meanwhile, Hamamatsu City became the first city in Japan to introduce a concession system for its sewerage business in 2018.
The city aims to reduce the financial burden and incorporate the wisdom of the private sector through this method, in which the city retains ownership of the sewerage system while entrusting the operation of the system to the private sector.
This is one of the future challenges in an era of declining population.