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Visiting |
 The water for the 200,000 or so people living in Hitachi is supplied through two filtration plants, Moriyama and Juo. The Moriyama plant takes water from the Kuji River and Juo from the Juo River. Moriyama Filtration Plant can process 108,000 tons of pure water a month at most, whilst it usually processes 60,000tons a month. Juo can process 16,000 tons on a regular basis. Nowadays we can get water from the faucet whenever we want, so we don’t really care or appreciate that fact. Seawater evaporates and changes into rain, then the rain falls on the earth becoming a little stream, and then a river. Then the rivers flow into the sea. Thanks to this cycle of nature, we can get water for farming, manufacturing, drinking, and for many other purposes. It means that we really do owe our lives without a doubt to water. Water is really a necessary and indispensable natural resource. We should have a little more respect for water, as it is such an important lifeline for us． At the filtration plant, waters taken from the river is lead to reservoirs and there, mud and dirt are removed by allowing them to settle first and then by filtering them. After the water becomes pure it is disinfected. It takes about 12 to 15 hours for crude water to become drinkable and thus ready for supply. The sediment which is a bi-product of the water purifying process is used as a source material for cement or as horticultural soil. 
There are 24 members of staff at Moriyama Filtration Plant. They are
making efforts night and day to supply us with clean water. This is very
hard work but it gives them a lot of pride and pleasure to supply clean
and delicious water to the people of Hitachi. Thanks to our visit to the plant this time, we came to understand well that the water we use every day doesn’t just appear miraculously but is provided through the pain and hard work of these staff. We should therefore be all the more thankful and use water considerately. Have you ever thought about the quality level of Hitachi’s water? Do you think it is high level? It is as clear and pure as the water of the Shimanto River which is famous for its clear water and according to the plant staff, it is among the highest quality water in Japan. So we should feel a lot more proud of our water! The day before we visited the plant, it had rained heavily and water from the river was very muddy. The staff showed us an experiment to purify muddy water using PAC (poly aluminum chloride), that is a coagulant used in reality. A few minutes later, the dirty brown water in the beaker became clear with the dregs settled at the bottom before our eyes. We could really understand the filtration process thanks to this experiment. About 1200 to 1300 Elementary school children visit Moriyama Filtration Plant every year as part of their studies. We recommend you adults to visit there once and observe the equipment and the staff’s work. (if you wish to do this you will have to make a reservation in advance). It’s definitely worth a visit and you’ll learn a lot about our precious water. Address: 4-4-1, Moriyama-cho, Hitachi (Turn west at the Calculation Center on Route 6, you’ll be there in a few minutes by car). Tel: 0294-52-3628 |