In today's special feature report on water management in Japan, we return to the location of the famous NHK documentary "Satoyama" about the traditional water-supply system in the rural area of land between the mountain and the plain - which is known as "Satoyama". In one small village near Lake Biwa, the 750 residents of 170 households live in a close relationship with nature, drawing on the underground water supply from the mountains, and making sure the water that leaves their homes is clean enough to stream into the lake without polluting it. We went to central Japan to find out how it is done.
( Baikamo underwater flowers )
Here in central Japan, the delicate and beautiful "baikamo" flowers bloom underwater all year round.
( Secret water garden )
This small community is in the Shin-Asahi district of Takashima, in Shiga Prefecture, not far from Kyoto. The small village of just 170 households shot to fame in 2004 when it became the subject of an NHK documentary called "Satoyama: Japan's Secret Watergarden". "Satoyama" is a Japanese word that describes the area of land between the mountains and the plains. The homes in Takashima draw their water from the underground supply that comes from the mountain range on its way down to Lake Biwa.
Local villager, Miyake Yoshiko:" Where does this water come from. It comes from 23m underground."
Local villager, Fukuta Chiyoko :" I was born here, 60 years ago. I drank this water growing up. And my mother and father did too. We've lived like this for many generations - 200 years. There's a 200-year history."
" It tastes good! "
While washing your cup, you can also drink the water.
( Clean water in, clean water out )
In this traditional water-supply system, known as "kabata", crystal clear groundwater is drawn up into the first pool, which is used for drinking, cooking and washing rice. The outer pool is used for cleaning the dishes and rearing carp. The fish make sure the water is clean before it is released.
Local villager, Fukuta Chiyoko:" We put soup or leftover food in here, which the fish eat up, otherwise if it went into the pipes of the treatment plant it wouldn't be good. The water in here is very clean, and the water that flows outside is clean too, so when it drains into the river, it won't be polluted."
( Kabata keeps Lake Biwa clean )
Ms. Fukua has been using the traditional kabata system for 60 years. The villagers keep a watchful eye on the quality of water leaving their homes, making sure it is not contaminated. Two to three households share a channel, so if dirty water is tipped into the drain, everyone knows about it. Their caution is because the water streams into Japan's largest inland body of water - Lake Biwa - which supplies over 10 million people in Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe.
Local villager, Fukuta Chiyoko:" We collect used cooking oil and recycle it into this soap which we reuse in the kitchen, so it's called recycled soap. This doesn't harm Lake Biwa so much."
( Detergent caused algal bloom )
It looks clean today but Lake Bixwa used to have an algae problem.
Lake Biwa Renewal Department, Miwa Nobuhiko:" On the surface of Lake Biwa it looks like 2-3 kilometers of red algal bloom was caused mainly by household wastewater directly discharged into the lake. There was also industrial and agricultural wastewater. "
Halting the algal bloom was not easy. The first step was to stop phosphorus and nitrogen entering the water.
Lake Biwa Renewal Department, Miwa Nobuhiko:" To stop the algal bloom getting worse, there was a campaign to use soap instead of detergent. Because of the housewives' campaign, they put pressure on the Shiga prefectural government to enact an ordinance."
( Grassroots pressure forces new laws )
The local movement grew into a national phenomena, as other prefectures follow suit in passing new wastewater controls. But as the Lake Biwa algal bloom situation improved, new problems of invading species of fish, and overgrowing waterweed appeared.
Restoring the damaged ecosystem may take decades, but the Japanese people have taken the lessons of Lake Biwa to heart.
( Lanfill groundwater protection )
In the final installment of our Japan series, we go back to Osaka to investigate how the city protects its groundwater from being polluted by landfills. Wake sure you tune in for a tour around possibly the most colorful garbage incinerator in the world.
Loading...
9:45
つきのみち Fly to the moonby studioBAGUS241 views
Link to this comment:
All Comments (0)