Q: Is the sea water desalination the best solution to water shortage?
A: It’s important to have the policy mix of in spreading save water awareness and water-saving equipment, gray-water system, separating sewer and development restriction.
Geographically, Fukuoka City lacks enough water resources, however, to cope with this shortcoming and secure the water resources, it implements sustainable water management to be a water saving city, desalinating the sea water, building a dam having a drought countermeasure capacity, introducing gray-water system, and supporting the neighboring areas providing water to the city. And the city is confident in developing further.
Water Shortage Prevention of Fukuoka City
Water supply is the foundation that supports the lives of cities and the residents. Water resources must be secured in order to provide a stable supply of water for the development of cities. Unlike other major cities in Japan, Fukuoka City geographically does not have water resources and experienced the serious water shortage in 1978 and 1994, In 1978, the city set “Fukuoka City Guidelines for Measures on Water-saving Water Use,'' and "Fukuoka City Water Conservation Promotion Ordinance" in 2003 and implements the measures for sustainable water management, leading to a “water saving city”.
As a part of sustainable water management, the city has conducted various water resource development, such as desalination of sea water, gray-water system for the sewage to utilize for miscellaneous uses (e.g., flushing toilets and sprinkling), building Japan’s first dam having drought countermeasure capacity, and water leakage countermeasures.
In addition, it supports the neighboring areas providing water to the city on conservation in improving soil conservation and moisturizing soil layers by developing water source recharge. Fukuoka City also enlightens the citizens to importance of saving water, in distributing brochures and placing stickers, and it led the city records one of the least household water usage per capita comparing to other major cities in Japan.
The population of Fukuoka City is expected to keep increasing up to the peak in 2035, and the demand of 520,000 cubic meter is forecasted then, the city works on securing the water supply. Water supply is the source of development of a city, and in that case, Fukuoka City has a capacity to develop further.
[Case ID: Urban Policy UP-05]
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