The nation's first demonstration experiment has begun in Tokyo to quickly identify water outages caused by earthquakes, etc., by using information that grasps the operating status of coffee machines at convenience stores.

This demonstration experiment will use a convenience store system to notify the coffee machine installed in each store that there is no water supply and identify the location of the water outage. It was started by Seven-Eleven Japan, a major convenience store chain.



Information on the convenience store side is reflected in the metropolitan government's system for identifying water outages, and the person in charge of the metropolitan government checks whether the information is reflected correctly.



In the Tokyo metropolitan government's system, there are only a few devices dedicated to reporting water pipe problems, so it is only possible to ascertain the locations of water outages in general areas. As a result, it takes time to recover.



Masahiro Abiko, Manager of the Water Distribution Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Waterworks, said, "By using the system of a company with 2,900 stores in Tokyo, we can narrow down the water outage areas faster than before. I want to utilize the power of the."



This demonstration experiment will be conducted through the end of February, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will continue to consider disaster prevention measures using data from private companies.

Why use a coffee machine?

This time, major convenience stores that provide information to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government are operating a system that grasps the status of power outages and water outages at each store in real time in order to quickly restore stores in the event of a disaster.



Of these, the status of water outages is determined from the coffee machine installed in the store.



The coffee machine connected to the water pipe is automatically supplied with water when the amount of water in the tank drops below a certain level.



The company uses this mechanism to reflect the information in the system when the water supply is interrupted, and by checking whether the surrounding stores are similarly not supplied with water, the area where the water supply is interrupted This means that you can narrow down the



"There are 2,900 stores in Tokyo, and we can estimate in detail which areas have water outages. There are cases where private companies have information that the government does not have," said Nishimura Izuru, head of the system division of "Seven-Eleven Japan." I would like to actively cooperate with the public and private sectors."

It is difficult to identify water outages Early identification is an issue

Last year, the Tokyo metropolitan government announced that an earthquake directly hitting the capital would damage more than a quarter of the city's water pipes and make them unusable due to shaking and liquefaction.



It is said that it will take at least 17 days to restore the water, but one of the factors that takes time is the difficulty in identifying where the water supply is interrupted.



According to the Tokyo metropolitan government, there are special devices that detect abnormalities such as changes in water pressure and flow volume due to damage to water pipes, but the cheapest one costs about 1.7 million yen, and the more expensive one costs about 20 million yen. is the cost of



For this reason, there are only about 10 in each city, town, and village in Tokyo.



For this reason, the metropolitan government's system for determining water outages can only be used in general areas.



Based on reports of water outages received from residents, the metropolitan government narrows down the areas where water pipes are suspected to be damaged. am.



In the event of a disaster, information about water outages may not be conveyed correctly due to confusion, and the issue is how to quickly identify the location of water outages without relying only on human reports in order to restore water supply as soon as possible. I'm here.