Sewage

June 06, 2016

Sewage

2 June '16

We got to visit the Arakawa Sewage Treatment Center where we learned all about how to deal with dirty water. The ASTC is one of seven regional sewer systems in Arakawa, though they deal with the most sewage out of all seven facilities. The ASTC has been providing service to six cities and over two million citizens since 1972. 78% of the waste water comes from domestic & business use, 9% from industrial, and 13% "other."

After entering the facility from a variety of sources, the water goes through one of two different processes depending on if it was rain water (from storm drains) or sewage. After the dirt and other larger particles (relative to chemical compounds like pharmaceuticals and heavy metals), the cleaner water continues on while the particles are dehydrated and incinerated. The ash from this process is used is then used in cement. The whole treatment process is long and I won't go into too much detail, but here are some things that surprised and worried me a bit.

Even after going through numerous stage of treatment, sewage water still maintains a yellow color and urine smell. In order to get rid of the smell and color they bleach the water.
Thought the bleach sounded harsh? Wait until you find out where the treated water is released to. The outflow is directed right into the river. There are certain measurements of water quality that are set by the government that must be met before the water is released into the river, but the exact conditions of the river are not taken into account at all. In contrast, sewage treatment centers in the United States must adhere not only to national standards, but as well as to the river it is going into thanks to the Clean Water Act.
Another Japan-US contrast that I found interesting was our treatment of storm water. In Japan the storm water goes through a much better treatment at the facility. In the US, there is better management for the water at the place of entry (for example, it is illegal to have storm water go directly into streams and other natural bodies of water) but not so much at treatment facilities.
Last but not least, and quite possibly the most shocking, is that when ASTC receives too much volume to treat, they shut down the facility and run the sewage right into the river.

At least they try to make the process kawaii with diagrams that personify fire, ash, and other fun things! (I didn't get pictures of anything else besides a big metal building, the incinerator

Look at these pretty sewer caps! Each large waste water treatment plant in Japan has a specific design, and you will find the respective cap in the cities in which it serves.

After we got back from the treatment plant, I wandered around looking for more furoshiki for mom. I passed by the pet shop twice and of course stopped in both times.

After the Crea Mall begins to fade into old Kawagoe, there are these pillars every 10 or so meters that play classical music as you walk down the street. Similarly, there is also a loop recording of birds chirping in train stations to keep people from getting angry or stressed in the eki.