Another way that Japanese people utilize their water is by using Micro Hydroelectricity.4 Although a single micro hydroelectric generator doesn't produce much power, this form of electricity is very innovative. The process of generating this micro hydroelectric power is quite simple. Water used for irrigating rice crops travel through human-made trenches towards the rice field.4 According to ourworld.edu, as the irrigation water travels, kinetic energy generated by height gaps in these trenches provide power to the small generator. This method of power shows the ingenuity of the Japanese. Also, more traditional dams such as the 610 foot tall Kurobe Dam provide a much larger amount of power than the micro hydroelectric generators.10 As stated in city.omachi.nagano.html, the Kurobe Dam is an arch dam, which generates a whopping 1 billion kilowatt hours a year. This massive amount of energy is enough to power the entire Kansai region of Japan.10 This is only one of the 50,000 dams in Japan.5 It is simply amazing that such a large number of dams can be in a country as small as Japan. People in Japan are very creative when thinking about new ways to harness the water's energy.
How is a relatively small country such as Japan able to keep up with the industrial water demand and the citizen water need? Japan can do this because of their highly advanced water purification system. Japan's leading water purification system is called membrane treatment.7 An average membrane treatment plant in Japan can purify around 30,000 cubic meters of water per day.7 An example of a type of membrane treatment is Microfoliation membrane treatment. production for semiconductor manufacturing, sterile water production, sterile filtration of wine and beer, etc.” 7
“Microfoliation membrane treatment is a separation technique which captures particles such as microorganisms and macromolecules that are between 0.1 to 1 micrometers in size. Used in ultrapure water
This Microfoliation membrane treatment is only one of four main types of membrane treatment.7 These four treatments are used for purifying different types of water. Not only does membrane treatment purify water for drinking, it also purifies water for industries. This purification technique transforms water to a nearly self-sustaining, renewable resource, as Japanese industries which use membrane treatment's water recovery rate that exceeds 80%.7 Membrane treatment is an exciting new technological advance in the water purifying field. Another method Japanese people use to purify water is desalination. Desalination is the process of removing salt from seawater and purifying it.7 These new technological breakthroughs greatly help Japanese citizens industry, and should encourage even more economical growth in Japan.
Membrane treatment and other forms of water purification were key in the cleansing of the water contaminated in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. Around 181,400 tons of water were contaminated by the nuclear accident.6 Some of this water ran into the ocean, raising concerns about contamination of marine life and seafood.6 Waters within a 20-kilometer zone are still off-limits to humans, and high levels of contamination have been found in seabed sediment and fish tested in the area.6 This is extremely bad for both the environment and the economy of Japan.
Micro Hydroelectric Generator
http://www.ecotec.ie/37634.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Kanamachi-water_purification_plant.JPG/800px-Kanamachi-water_purification_plant.JPG