Information from the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel

We received a lot of information at the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, some of which is posted below.

A Japanese folder with information:

An English folder: "Sairyu no kawa" (PDF, 1.7 mb) filled with technical statistics.

The postcard which served as ID during the tour, and which you could take home afterwards:

Visit to the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel

We made our trip to Japan and among the many places we visited was the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel (首都圏外郭放水路 shutoken gaikaku hōsuiro). It went exactly as described on this blog: http://blog.japantwo.com/2010/06/25/700 but there were a few exceptions.

The Japanese guide was very speedy in her speech and although I knew what was coming and understood the general gist, I was taken aback when she suddenly posed me a question and the whole tour group stared at me, waiting for a reply.... "Wakarimasen...", I had to say, because I really had no idea what this part was about. It was very embarrassing! Luckily we could join a Scotsman and his Japanese wife who was translating for him as the guide went through the '"you will descend 116 steps and you cannot take pictures until you are down at the bottom"-story, which was the part I did understand. In any case it was a good excuse to chat more with other English speaking tourists, and a good encouragement to study more!

The Ryukyukan where the tour starts is filled with moving models and maps, showing how the installation works and which area it affects. There is a special movie theater with walls similar to the underground concrete pillars and sound effects of water dripping, making you experience the discharge channel as if you were already there. The movie itself is mainly about how the discharge channel manages to tame the slightly aggressive 'blue river dragon'. The building also has a wall filled with pictures and signatures of famous people making movies and commercials inside the tunnels.

Given that this tour is free and you get so much information, and the chance to experience the huge, dark and damp underground atmosphere of this hidden mega construction, it is certainly worth a visit.

G-Cans in Japan - Tokyo Metropolitan Outer Underground Discharge Channel

Coming up first is a holiday to Japan with a visit to the world famous G-Cans! (More information here and here; with more pictures here.) In Japanese this is called the 首都圏外郭放水路 shutoken gaikaku hōsuiro, and it's a massive underground system of interconnecting tunnels and basins for excess water. To walk around inside this structure is going to leave a lasting expression to be sure.

Japan altitude and tectonic plates map

Click to enlarge these maps:

The Netherlands becomes Japan!

And Japan surprisingly becomes Sudan, when population sizes are linked to country sizes.

Videos and information on Dutch high water

City of Nijmegen:

City of Deventer:

Provinces Limburg and Gelderland:

Province of Limburg:

Rules for high water prevention measures per river can be accessed here.

News - January

Nu.nl reports:

• 2010 year with most natural disasters in the past 2 decades

The UN ordered a research from the CRED in Belgium, and they have found 297.000 deaths due to natural disasters in 2010. The Haitian earthquake was responsible for 222.500 deaths, followed by the heatwave in Russia with 55.000 deaths.

Looking at the most costly disasters, the total of costs is estimated at 80 billion euro. The earthquake causing a tsunami in Chili ranks at the top, followed by floods and landslides in China and Pakistan.

207 million people were affected by natural disasters; 89 percent of the affected areas was in Asia.

Source >>>

The Dutch government reports:

• Expansion of the province Zuid-Holland into the ocean

The project Zandmotor (Sand motor), for which I approved one of the many necessary permits, has started today. 21.5 million cubic meter of sand are applied at one point of the coast. Natural effects of wind, waves and sea currents will spread out this sand along the coast line. This project is thought to naturally enhance water safety and enlarge the recreational area of the coast, while costing less as there is no longer the need to locally add sand every 5 years. 100 hectares of new land are expected to come into existence.

Movie >>>

Research institute Deltares reports:

• New version of OpenMI released

Integrating environmental models to test sustainability and impacts of policies is now even easier with the new version of OpenMI. Details >>>

Magazine H2O reports:

• Enclosure Dam not up to standards

Provinces Friesland and Noord-Holland have informed the minister of Infrastructure and the Environment that the Enclosure Dam in the North of the Netherlands once again fails to meet the legal safety standards. Corresponding sluices and drain resources also didn't comply with the standards. It is now up to the government to take adequate measures. More>>>

• Water board de Dommel starts e-panel with civilians

The water board de Dommel, in the South of the Netherlands, has initiated an online civilian panel in order to have the activities of the water board connect better with desires of civilians. People joining the survey receive a free 'shower coach', which aids in reducing water usage. More>>>

• Military aircraft F-16 aids in dike movement inspections

The water board Peel and Maasvallei in the South-East of the Netherlands has had the aid of an F-16 to determine possible dike movements. The aircraft used the Recce-Lite system, and the results were good: all dikes in the area are stable. More>>>