water quality and pollution control

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This article was downloaded by: [Newcastle University] On: 19 December 2014, At: 19:27 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK International Journal of Water Resources Development Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cijw20 Water quality and pollution control Yasuhiko Kobayashi a a Director of the Water Supply Division of the Department of Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation Facilities , Environmental Health Bureau, Ministry of Health and Welfare Published online: 02 May 2007. To cite this article: Yasuhiko Kobayashi (1988) Water quality and pollution control, International Journal of Water Resources Development, 4:1, 40-44, DOI: 10.1080/07900628808722369 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07900628808722369 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

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Page 1: Water quality and pollution control

This article was downloaded by: [Newcastle University]On: 19 December 2014, At: 19:27Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office:Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

International Journal of Water ResourcesDevelopmentPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscriptioninformation:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cijw20

Water quality and pollution controlYasuhiko Kobayashi aa Director of the Water Supply Division of the Department of Water Supply andEnvironmental Sanitation Facilities , Environmental Health Bureau, Ministry ofHealth and WelfarePublished online: 02 May 2007.

To cite this article: Yasuhiko Kobayashi (1988) Water quality and pollution control, International Journal ofWater Resources Development, 4:1, 40-44, DOI: 10.1080/07900628808722369

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07900628808722369

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”)contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and ourlicensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, orsuitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication arethe opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis.The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified withprimary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoevercaused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of theContent.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantialor systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, ordistribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use canbe found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Page 2: Water quality and pollution control

Water quality and pollutioncontrol

Yasuhiko Kobayashi

This paper charts the decline in the quality of Japan's water resources from about1955, and the increasingly energetic measures taken to reverse the trend. Thestandards set by the Basic Law for Environmental Pollution Control aredescribed, and their impact to date is assessed. With respect to human healthprotection the measures taken have been almost wholly successful, but seriousproblems of environmental pollution remain, especially in lakes and reservoirs.The main countermeasures against water pollution - effluent control, sewerageand night soil treatment facilities, control of pollutants, steps to arresteutrophication and prevent groundwater contamination - are described. Finally,the special measures adopted and proposed for lakes and reservoirs are outlined.

Water is one of the essential resources for humanlife, and its quality as well as its quantity must bemaintained at the level dictated by its intendedpurpose - whether for drinking and daily life,industry, irrigation or a variety of other applications.

Japan is blessed with water of naturally goodquality except for high turbidity in river water duringflood seasons. Samples of water quality are recordedin Table 1, which shows that in general water inJapan is clear and soft. Unfortunately the outstand-ing advances made by industry and the improvementin standards of living, together with the tendency ofboth population and industry to gather in the majorcities, have caused increases in industrial effluentand household wastes. Consequently water qualityin public water areas has degraded rapidly sincearound 1955.

In certain areas serious contamination problemshave arisen, and have had serious social consequ-ences. The accumulation of cadmium in the humanbody inflicts damage on bones and kidneys. Awell-known example of the damage caused by

Yasuhiko Kobayashi is Director of the Water SupplyDivision of the Department of Water Supply andEnvironmental Sanitation Facilities, EnvironmentalHealth Bureau, Ministry of Health and Welfare.

cadmium is itai-itai disease, which occurred in thebasin of the Jintsu river, Toyama prefecture.Mercury often results in nervous or brain disorderswhen it accumulates in the human body. Minamatadisease, which broke out in the coastal area ofYatsushiro, Kumamoto prefecture, and in the basinof the Agano river, Niigata prefecture, is known tohave been caused by methyl mercury, which has avery high degree of toxicity.

Much progress has been made, however, inovercoming such critical conditions, thanks to strictregulation, the development of treatment facilitiesand conservation planning, and water pollutionproblems have now entered a new phase.

Water quality standardsIn order to promote the control of water pollution,laws relating to water pollution control were enactedin 1958, and effluent standards and regulations wereestablished for designated areas. These wereamended by the Water Pollution Control Law as abasic law laying down comprehensive measures forcontrolling surface water pollution.

The environmental quality standards relating towater quality in public-use water areas stipulatetarget levels of water quality to be achieved andmaintained under the Basic Law for Environmental

40 0790-0627/88/010040-05$03.00 © 1988 Butterworth & Co (Publishers) Ltd

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Water quality and pollution control: Yasuhiko Kobayashi

Table 1. Quality of raw water, 1982-83.

Turbidity (range)(mean)

pH value (range)(mean)

Alkalinity (mg/1)Nitrite and nitrate nitrogen (mg/1 as N)Ammonia nitrogen (mg/1 as N)Chlorine ion (mg/1)Organic substances (KMnO4 consum mg/I)Hardness (mg/1 as CaCO3)Iron (mg/1)Manganese (mg/1)

Ara river(Tokyo)

3-93028.07.6-6.87.2412.060.320.032

. 7.6710.870.10

Shinano river(Niigata)

4-100034.17.5-7.07.1220.810.1112.08.1330.050.04

Yodo river(Osaka)

4-55013.17.7-6.77.2330.770.7112.69.4390.960.07

Groundwater(Kumamoto)

0-006.9-6.86.9531.36-10.40.368<0.01<0.01

Table 2. Environmental quality standards (maximum mg/1) relating to the protection of human health.

Standard value

Cadmium0.01

Cyanide

ND

Organicphophorus

NDLead0.1

Chromium(hexavalent)

0.05

Arsenic

0.05

Totalmercury

0.0005

Alkylmercury

NDPCBsND

ND: Not detectable.

Table 3. Examples of environmental quality standards relating to the living environment (rivers).

CategoryAA

A

B

C

D

E

Purpose of utilization

Water supply, class 1, conservation ofnatural environment, and uses listed in A-E

Water supply, class 2, fishery, class 1,bathing, and uses listed in B-E

Water supply, class 3, fishery, class 2,and uses listed in C-E

Fishery, class 3, industrial water, class 1,and uses listed in D and E

Industrial water, class 2, agriculturalwater, and uses listed in E

Industrial water, class 3, andconservation of environment

pH

6.5-8.5

6.5-8.5

6.5-8.5

6.5-8.5

6.0-8.5

6.0-8.5

Biochemicaloxygen demand(BOD)1 mg/1 or less

2 mg/1 or less

3 mg/1 or less

5 mg/1 or less

8 mg/1 or less

10 mg/1 or less

Standard value

Suspendedsolids (SS)25 mg/1 or less

25 mg/1 or less

25 mg/1 or less

50 mg/1 or less

100 mg/1 or less

Floating matteras garbage shallnot be observed

Dissolvedoxygen (DO)

7.5 mg/1or more

7.5 mg/1or more

5 mg/1or more

5 mg/1or more

2 mg/1or more

2 mg/1or more

Number ofcoliformgroups

50 MPN/100 ml orless

1000 MPN/100 ml or less

5 000 MPN/100 ml or less

-

-

Notes:Conservation of the naturalenvironment:Water supply, class 1:Water supply, class 2:Water supply, class 3:Fishery, class 1:Fishery, class 2:

Fishery, class 3:Industrial water, class 1:Industrial water, class 2:Industrial water, class 3:Conservation of environment:

Conservation of scenic spots and other natural resources.Water supplied after undergoing simple purification processes such as filtration.Water supplied after undergoing a normal purification process.Water supplied after undergoing a sophisticated purification including pretreatment.For aquatic life, inhabiting oligosaprobic water and those of fishery, classes 2 and 3.For aquatic life, such as the salmon family and sweetfish inhabiting oligosaprobic water, and those offishery, class 3.For aquatic life such as carp and crustaceans inhabiting eutrophic water.Water supplied after undergoing a normal purification process such as sedimentation.Water supplied after undergoing a sophisticated purification process using chemicals.Water supplied after undergoing special purification processes.To the extent at which no unpleasantness is caused to people in their daily lives(including strolling along the beach).

WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT Volume 4 Number 1 March 1988 41

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Page 4: Water quality and pollution control

Water quality and pollution control: Yasuhiko Kobayashi

Pollution Control. There are two categories ofstandards: the protection of human health, and theconservation of the living environment.

The environmental quality standards relating tothe protection of human health, uniformly applic-able to all public water, are shown for ninesubstances in Table 2. The standards relating to theliving environment vary according to type of waterarea, such as rivers, lakes and marine areas, and use,such as drinking water supply, industrial water,agricultural irrigation and swimming pools. Thevalues of several indicators, such as BOD (bioche-mical oxygen demand) and COD (chemical oxygendemand, are given for rivers in Table 3.

These standards are enforced by the EnvironmentAgency of the central government where waterbodies span prefectural boundaries, otherwise therelevant governors of prefectures oversee them.Target dates were set for achieving the requiredlevels. Total nitrogen (T-N) and total phosphorus(T-P) levels were newly added in December 1982 inorder to prevent eutrophication of lakes andreservoirs.

14.0 -

12.0 -

10.0

? 8.0

6.0

4.0

2.0

- \

- • '

-

\ \

• \

• \

\

\

Ara river (Sasame bashi)Sumida river (Ryogoku bashi)Oota river (Asahi bashi)Yoshino river (Takase bashi)

- v ^ .

I I1970 1975 1980

Figure 1. Changes in average values of BOD in rivers.

by continuous efforts to improve water quality inrivers are shown in Figure 1.

Present levels of water pollutionAs a result of improvements in water purificationsystems and the strengthening of restrictions, thequality of public water has improved remarkablywith respect to human health protection. Nearly100% of the total of 142796 samples taken at 5266points in 1985 throughout Japan satisfied the qualitystandards, and hardly any problems remain.

As for the living environment, if we base ourestimates on BOD or COD levels, which are reliableindices, considerable improvements can be seen inrivers and sea areas, but only 69% of the overallnumber of areas have met the environmentalstandards for organic pollution. The biggest prob-lems are posed especially by lakes and reservoirs.The achievement rate there has in fact declinedslightly in recent times, and in 1985 was 41.2% (seeTable 4). The improvements that have been brought

Table 4. Rates of compliance with environmental qualitystandards for public water areas (%).

Publichealth

1975 99.831980 99.951985 99.98

(142 796)

reservoirs

Living environmentLakes/

Rivers

57.167.267.7[2 354]

SeaTotal Givingenvironment)

38.641.641.2[114]

72.4 59.679.8 68.780.0 69.0[584] [3 052]

Notes: ( ) = numbers inspected; [ ] = numbers of water areas.Source: Environment Agency, Quality of the Environment, 1987.

Countermeasures against water pollutionIn order to prevent the pollution of water and toattain the required environmental quality standards,various measures have been taken in accordancewith the Water Pollution Control Law.

Effluent control and effluent standardsThe first step towards water pollution control waseffluent control on waste discharged into publicwaters from factories. This subject was first addres-sed in water pollution laws enacted in 1958; the morerecent Water Pollution Control Law has requiredseverer effluent control over a broader range ofactivities.

The law lays down uniform national effluentstandards for specified facilities from which effluentsare discharged into public water. The governmenthas specified uniform effluent standards for 23items, as follows: cadmium (0.1mg/l or less),cyanide (1), organic phosphorus (1), lead (1),chromium (hexavalent) (0.5), arsenic (0.5), totalmercury (0.005), alkyl mercury (should be undect-able), PCB (0.003), pH (5.8-9.0), BOD (160,average 120), COD (160, average 120), SS (200,average 150), normal hexane extracts (mineral oil 5,animal and vegetable fats 30), phenols (5), copper(3), zinc (5), iron (10), manganese (10), chrome (2),fluorine (15) and number of coliform groups(3000/ml). In addition prefectural governors mayissue ordinances for stricter effluent standards where

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national standards are insufficient to attain appropri-ate environmental quality standards.

Industrial plants and workshops including publicsewerage systems must meet these effluent standardsat the point of disposal by means of waste treatmentif they discharge effluent into public waters. Inresponse industries have developed and promotedwaste treatment technology.

Prefectural governors have an obligation to ensurethe monitoring of water for public use and toprepare water quality measurement plans accordingto the stipulations of the law.

Development of sewerage systems and night soiltreatment facilitiesSewerage systems have the function of dischargingurban waste water into rivers or coastal waters afterproper treatment. They therefore play an importantrole from the viewpoint of both the improvement ofthe living" environment and the preservation of waterquality.

Up to about 30 years ago night soil was used as afertilizer in Japan. In addition, a system in which thenight soil is hygienically collected and treated wasoften established, and this also had some influencein delaying the development of the public seweragesystem. In 1985 only 36% of the total populationenjoyed proper sewerage services. Governmentshave endeavoured to develop sewerage systems inurban areas and to adopt advanced treatmentmethods for closed-water areas. It has also beenimportant to promote advanced methods of nightsoil treatment and develop community-scale sewer-age systems according to local conditions.

Control of total amounts of pollutantsAlthough recently water quality in Japan hasgenerally been improving, it is still difficult to satisfyquality standards concerning the living environmentin closed-water areas. A closed area of water is abody of water mostly surrounded by land, such aslakes and reservoirs, inland seas and bays cuttingdeep "inland; pollutants are liable to collect theresince the water in them does not mix with outsidewater.

Basic guidelines for reducing total chemicaloxygen demand loads were introduced in the Tokyo,Nagoya and Seto areas in 1979, and the prefecturesconcerned established master plans for reducingtotal pollutant loads after 1980. Controls areimposed on factories and workshops along the riversflowing into these bays and sea to hold down thetotal amounts of pollutants discharged below certainlevels.

Countermeasures against eutrophicationIn addition to the problem of pollutants, there is alsothe problem of eutrophication caused by nutrientsalts such as nitrogen and phosphate. When thesecompounds are carried into a closed-water area inlarge quantities, they lead to the rapid growth ofplankton which serve as fertilizers and cause thewater quality to deteriorate. This often producesunpleasant-smelling water and kills a lot of culti-vated fish.

To resolve the problem of eutrophication, it isnecessary to reduce the level of nutrient salts.Research and investigations have been conductedinto the necessary measures; environmental stan-dards for nitrogen and phosphate in lakes andreservoirs were established in 1983 and effluentcontrol was enforced in accordance with the law in1984.

Preventing groundwater contaminationGenerally speaking, groundwater has in the pastbeen rather easily obtainable at low cost, so it hasbeen widely favoured for its good quality, stablequantity and temperature. As excessive quantitieswere extracted, however, groundwater levels beganto drop, causing the water in coastal areas to becomesalty, and also provoking land subsidence.

Adding to these problems, a groundwater con-tamination survey conducted by the EnvironmentAgency in 1982 disclosed that organic solvents suchas trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene(PCE) and 1,1,1-trichloroethane (MC) contamin-ated some groundwater in municipal areas. Whilethe mechanism of contamination has not yet beenestablished, guidelines have been laid down tocontrol pollution resulting from the penetration ofwater containing TCE (less than 0.03 mg/1), PCE(less than 0.01 mg/1) and MC (0.3 mg/1), and alsotargets have been set for discharging effluent: TCE(0.3 mg/1 or less), PCE (0.1 mg/1 or less) and MC(3 mg/1 or less).

Further investigation and studies of groundwatercontamination are being carried out and newmeasures for fighting it should be announced in thenear future.

Special measures for lakes and reservoirsThe strengthening of restrictions is beginning toshow considerable effects on river and sea water, butthere has been insufficient progress with lakes andreservoirs; indeed in some cases further deteriora-tion has not been arrested. Generally speaking,lakes and reservoirs have long retention times andtend to become stagnant, so, besides the effects of

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pollutant inflow, internal production activity is alsocontributing greatly to natural pollution. They aretherefore more easily polluted than rivers, and oncethey become polluted their recovery is moredifficult.

In 1984, in an attempt to tackle these problemssystematically the Special Measures Law for theConservation of Lake and Reservoir Water Qualitywas enacted. The law lays down basic policy for theconservation of lake water quality and opens the wayfor the adoption of special measures in lakes whichare in great need of action. Even stricter controlover waste effluents than hitherto is required. Inaddition, guidance and advice can be given tofarmers and residents on the reduction of wasteeffluent loads.

Further projects are still required to conserve lakewater quality: the construction of sewerage andnight soil treatment plants will contribute to thereduction of the domestic pollution load, andprojects such as the dredging of basin sediment, theartificial aeration of lakes and reservoirs, and theintroduction of flushing water from other rivers willhelp to clean up lakes. As far as concrete policies areconcerned, the governor of each prefecture willprepare conservation plans for lake and reservoirwater quality for the designated lakes and reservoirsand related water systems, and enforce them.

Policies for the futureIn order to conserve the quality of public water, thefollowing further plans have been developed:

(i) Pollution loads carried by effluents fromplants and workshops should be more strin-gently restricted.

(ii) Pollution prevention facilities such as sewer-age systems should be improved and ex-tended.

(iii) Household effluent treatment should bepromoted. Problems caused by small anduncontrollable pollution sources are gainingin importance and it is becoming necessary to

(iv)

(v)

(vi)

face the challenge directly. In areas where apublic sewerage system is not established, thepollution load of night soil has been decreasedby means of septic tanks and public night soiltreatment facilities, but almost everywherewaste water from kitchens and laundries isdischarged directly into the environmentwithout any treatment at all. Although thisproblem should be fundamentally solved bythe development of sewerage systems, it willtake a considerable time for these systems tospread nationwide; therefore the immediateproblem remains and is becoming acute.Direct purification measures should be under-taken for rivers, lakes and reservoirs, forexample low-grade dredging, the introductionof water from others rivers, etc.Land utilization plans must consider theenvironment, especially in urban areas.Further measures to prevent chemical con-tamination must be legislated.

Summary and conclusions

Japan has been suffering from water pollution sincethe mid-1950s, and considerable improvements havebeen made through the regulation of effluents,setting environmental quality standards, controlover the total amount of pollutants allowed, and thedevelopment of treatment facilities. There remainmany areas, however, in which water problems arebecoming more complex and acute. Eutrophicationin closed-water areas, insufficient improvement inlake and reservoir water, and groundwater contami-nation by chemicals are the major problems thatJapan faces today.

To solve these problems and to bequeath betterwater to future generations, governments, theprivate sector and the public at large must now fulfiltheir responsibilities to conserve the environment.In particular, governments bear a crucial responsi-bility for presenting comprehensive and well-planned environmental measures with a long-termperspective.

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