Water rates will rise significantly in the future? February 14 19:14

There is a series of news on the "water supply" such as the bursting of water pipes in Yokohama and the confusion over the water cut-off plan in Wakayama.
In the background is the aging water supply system.
When interviewing some municipalities, they were told that "a large-scale water outage could occur." In the future, it is possible that the water charges we bear will rise significantly.
(Morioka Broadcasting Station reporter Hiroyuki Takahashi)

Significant increase in local government burden

The stage was Oshu City and Kanegasaki Town in southern Iwate Prefecture.
The population is 130,000 in total. In a quiet city with a rural scene, last November it became clear.

The “office union”, which operates a water supply business, will significantly increase the water rates required for Oshu City and Kanegasaki Town from next fiscal year.
Oshu City is 1.4 times (258 million yen to 360 million yen), and Kanegasaki Town is 2.3 times (15.8 million yen to 36 million yen).
The municipalities, which have increased the burden, have stated that they will not raise water charges for ordinary households immediately, but they have to cut down on other administrative services to generate more financial resources.

Isawa Dam in Oshu City, which is a water source, is one of the largest dams in Japan, and was completed six years ago with a total project cost of 236 billion yen by the government.
Examining the background of the price increase, we can see that there is an imbalance between "huge construction costs" and "demand for water supply."

"Miscalculation" behind the burden increase

Certain documents were kept in the office association that operates the water supply business. This is a document that was presented to the country 30 years ago in 1990 when a water supply business was started.

According to calculations at that time, the population served by water in 2010 was over 150,000.
Water demand was expected to be up to 43,500 cubic meters per day.
However, this figure is far from reality.
The population served has temporarily increased, but has fallen to 120,000 as of the end of last year.
During this time, the water saving function of toilets and washing machines has been dramatically improved. Due to the widespread use of mineral water, water usage did not grow as initially estimated.

Secretariat of “Bicycle Operation”

The Great East Japan Earthquake also triggered.
Oshu originally planned to abolish most of its own water sources, such as wells, and to switch its water source to Isawa Dam.
However, the review will proceed due to the disruption of infrastructure due to the earthquake.
The policy was to maintain multiple water sources.

As a result, only 12,000 tons of dam water was used at the end of last year, nearly 30% of the initial forecast.
The facilities, such as water pipes, that were created with the construction of the dam are becoming excessive.
The balance of debt at the end of last fiscal year of the administrative union, which operates a water supply business, rose to 4.7 billion yen. This is the amount equivalent to the income of the office union for 10 years.
We have fallen into the "cycling operation" in which we borrow new debt to return the debt, and we received the suggestions of experts, so we decided to raise the price this time.

He interviewed Mayor Ozawa, Mayor of Oshu City, the top secretary of the secretary's union, and stressed that the decision was difficult, saying, "We decided that further postponement would not be a benefit for citizens."
Asked, "Is it possible to make a quicker decision?" When asked, "Whether it is a plan to get a national permit (for a water project based on a dam), can it be changed just because their situation has changed?" That's one of the reasons "and said," I'm just going to explain the current situation and outlook more carefully than ever before. "

It ’s like “dropping”

Kanegasaki-cho, another municipality, uses only three water sources to provide water.
In the future, when renewing or abolishing their own water source, it was possible to use water from Isawa Dam, but they did not receive any drops from Isawa Dam.
However, up to now, 15.8 million yen per year and 36 million yen per year from next year will be paid to the administrative association.
As I proceeded with the interview, I felt as if I had “litter-free insurance”.

Aging water pipes

In addition, the water supply business is facing a major challenge in equipment maintenance.
Oshu City's water distribution pipes reach a total length of 1870 km, which extends from Iwate Prefecture to the main island of Okinawa, of which 257 km, or 14%, has already exceeded its useful life of 40 years.

The staff in charge showed me a picture of the cracked water pipe.
According to the national guidelines, which indicate the risk of accidents, etc., more than half of the distribution pipes are classified into the lowest rank, which is "very bad, needs immediate replacement".
There are a series of water leakage problems, numbering about 300 cases a year.

Renewal work is progressing at a rapid pace, but only 7 km a year.
The biggest factor is the lack of budget, and the balance between income and expenditures is maintained by refinancing, borrowing, and saving from the general account.
I often visited the water supply section of Oshu City in this interview, but it was impressive that the staff of the water supply section was so busy that no one was stopping.

While the water supply population is decreasing ...

The severe situation surrounding the water supply business has spread throughout Iwate Prefecture.
The prefecture estimates that the population served by water will decrease from 1.18 million in 2016 to 870,000 in 2045.

Naturally, fee revenues are expected to fall, from 23 billion yen in FY2016 to 25% in FY2045, to 17.2 billion yen if the current rate continues.
Under such circumstances, renewal of facilities is extremely costly, and in the year 2034, when renewal demand peaks, 24.9 billion yen will be required.
According to interviews with people in charge of water utilities in multiple municipalities in Iwate Prefecture, he said, "The facility could not keep up with the renewal, and a large-scale water outage could occur in the future."

High hurdle to solution

The government has proposed “wide area” and “privatization” as solutions, but both have high hurdles.

"Wide area" means that multiple local governments share and interchange water supply facilities and reduce costs by reducing extra facilities.

Iwate Prefecture's Kitakami City, Hanamaki City, and Shiwa Town merged and established the water supply business in 2014. Says that it has succeeded in reducing costs by 7.6 billion yen.
However, the scale of the water supply business varies depending on the municipality, and it is necessary to standardize the charges, so it is not easy to expand the area.
Iwate Chubu Waterworks also took 10 years to integrate the business.

Regarding "privatization", companies will not be able to start in the first place unless the population size is large, where profits can be expected to some extent. In particular, Iwate Prefecture is the largest in Honshu, and has the disadvantage that the total length of the water pipes stretched around, the population balance, and the cost-effectiveness are extremely poor.

In Miyagi Prefecture, the prefectural assembly has enacted an amendment ordinance that allows the right to sell the operating right of the water supply business including water supply to private companies, but there is concern that privatization will raise the price and deteriorate the water quality The voice is strong.

Normally ...

What I felt strongly in this interview about the water supply business was that the problem had been postponed.
When interviewed with the staff of multiple local governments in charge of water supply, they stated that they had to raise prices in more local governments, or increase the price increase.

Water pipes that exceed their useful life all over the country and need to be replaced will be equivalent to four laps of the earth when added together.

According to estimates compiled by major audit firms in Japan in 2018, if the current water supply business is to be maintained in the face of a declining population, approximately 20% of water utilities such as municipalities and nationwide by 2040 Says that it is necessary to raise water rates.
He points out that the rate of price increase is 36% on a national average, and that some local governments increase rates by about 5 times.

I want you to be interested in what the local water utility is doing and what the municipalities are doing to prevent the water rates from jumping one day.
So far, we have talked about "waterworks", but in fact, problems are also occurring in "sewers". I want to continue reporting.

Morioka Broadcasting Station Reporter Hiroyuki Takahashi Joined in 2006. Worked in Hiroshima Station, Social Affairs Department, etc. Worked on Morioka Station from last year. Responsible for administrative interviews.