IV. Water Resource Management of Kobe City

OVERVIEW

The city of Kobe, Japan, has developed a municipal water supply and water waste treatment system over the past 100 years. It now serves 1.5 million people effectively with fresh, clean water from the tap, and efficient, effective wastewater treatment.

It can be said that the vast majority of Kobe's citizens take easy access to clean water for granted, which is both a compliment to the good system that has been constructed, as well as a challenge in engaging citizen interest in necessary measures to both maintain and further improve the water system.

Kobe has had to overcome many challenges to develop this system. They include:

a. High population density, with 1.5 million people living in a city squeezed onto a narrow strip of land between the coast and the mountains. Though today the water system covers a geographic area of 550 square kilometers, most of the population still lives in a highly concentrated urban area.


b. The near total destruction of all facilities in World War II, along with a sharp drop in the city's population and desperate economic times.


c. A depressed economy over the last 10 years, causing government at all levels to sharply control both capital spending and operational funding, and severely restricting the ability of consumers to pay any increases in billing rates.


d. The Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake of January, 1995, which destroyed much of the city of Kobe and killed more than 6,000 people.

Kobe is proud of the water system which has been able to develop in the face of the above challenges. The following is an overview of that system, covering the major supply source of water, its distribution to water users, and its subsequent collection and treatment before being released.