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Water restrictions go into effect in Kanto region

19 Comments

Water use restrictions went into effect in the Kanto region on Tuesday for the first time in 11 years. Residents and businesses in the region are being asked to cut their water usage by 10%.

The restrictions have become necessary because water levels in eight dams in the Tonegawa River drainage system, which serves as a major source of water for the Tokyo metropolitan area, have fallen due to unusually low rainfall and high temperatures this August, the Kanto Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said.

As of last Friday, the bureau said that water storage rate in eight dams in the Tonegawa river system had fallen to 40%, the third lowest rate ever recorded for the period, TBS reported. The ministry added that the storage rate was now equivalent to that of 2001 when water usage restrictions were last imposed.

The restrictions apply to the Tokyo metropolitan area, as well as Chiba, Saitama, Ibaraki, Gunma and Tochigi prefectures.

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19 Comments
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So will people stop watering the cement in front of their houses?

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Holy shirt, Batman. Time to do a raindance...

I guess that rain dance must have worked. It raining cats and dogs along with thunder and lightning here in Yokosuka now.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I hope this will stop the unnecessary sprinkling of water on the roads and pavements. I can understand it in summer during August but not every day of the year.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

What will the old boy security guards (in front of construction sites) do without their little water hoses?

1 ( +4 / -3 )

So what exactly are the restrictions? This appears voluntary?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

How can we know when we reached the 10% total? What if we just assume that we reached it already?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Holy shirt, Batman. Time to do a raindance...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

So will people stop watering the cement in front of their houses?

They'll just do it with a little less water

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Cant see anyone actually doing anything about this

0 ( +0 / -0 )

What a difference a few hundred miles make, On Kyushu this has been one of the wettest summers ever.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Resume construction of the Yabai, (Yamba), Dam.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

here i am again with my population problem ... by 2050 water shortage will be more than a global problem ... places where population went down by then might consider themselves lucky ... in the long run. Social stuff usually takes more than one generation to evolve so it's a bit invisible to 'the people' i'm afraid. Even to the ones who claim themselves worthy of leadership in most cases it seems

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Oh crap! I just did the laundry, dishes, and took a shower. I wish I had seen this earlier, I could have skipped all that.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Can this also apply during the winter months when people decide to turn the sidewalks into ice rinks?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Save water by washing the dishes at the same time as you shower. Or use paper plates.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

One of the sad implications of hydro-electric power. Water normally shared to rivers and tributaries has already been used up because of hydro-electric needs, and now some dams are as low as 4% reserves. Now they simply can't reroute water to where it's needed.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

Is this going to be like setsuden where stores and companies ignore it all?? If Japan is serious about such cutbacks, fines need to be given out to those who aren't listening. Folks watering the street for water, shops with doors open and the AC on for setsuden. No fines equals nothing saved.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

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