Management

If the Waterworks Bureau were to sell water-saving valves and publicize water conservation, wouldn’t this lead to increased revenue from sales of water-saving valves despite lower Water Rates?

In Osaka City the basic charge is a flat rate. The excess charge for domestic or industrial use is calculated by a unit rate that rises according to the amount of water used, in a so-called “gradually increasing rate Esystem that promotes an awareness of water conservation on the part of customers.

Osaka City depends for its water supply on Lake Biwa and the Yodo River tributary system, and is striving to secure water sources swiftly in response to the increased demand for water. As the result of our participation in a variety of water-source developments such as the Lake Biwa Comprehensive Development Project, we have already secured sufficient water use rights to meet the demand for water required in future. Accordingly Osaka City does not provide water-saving valves, as except for during unusual periods of drought there is sufficient water for people to be able to use as much as they require.

Although further research is required, we regard it as difficult to consider supplying water-saving valves at cost in terms of profitability. (Water-saving valves are available on the market for approximately 100 yen each.)

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It’s being reported that the scope of contracted water-supply businesses will broaden. What is the situation in Osaka City, and what is the city thinking of doing in future?

With the implementation in April 2002 of the revised Water Supply Law, business areas such as the operation of purification plants and water quality management that require high-level technical skills may now be contracted out to or subcontracted from other water-supply businesses.

This system was established for the purpose of ensuring the provision of safe, high-quality tap water, by allowing water supply businesses that are weak in technical expertise to contract out operations requiring high-level technical skills, such as the operation and management of purification plants and water-quality testing, to third parties with solid technical capacities. The Osaka City Waterworks Bureau is continuing to endeavor to gather information on these sorts of revisions to systems at a national level as well as on the status of implementation in other cities, and believes that when the objective of the revised Water Supply Law is taken fully into consideration it will be necessary to deal with this issue.

Work contracted out by the Osaka City Waterworks Bureau currently includes checking water meters and collecting payments for water bills (by convenience stores).

Charges

Water currently costs 950 yen per 10 cubic meters. Does this incorporate the construction costs of advanced water treatment facilities?

The Waterworks Bureau implemented its Project of Advanced Purification Facilities Maintenance between 1992 and 1999, and began phasing in the supply of water purified by advanced water treatment in March 1998. By March 2000, water throughout the city was purified by this method.

Part of the overall cost of introducing this advanced water treatment system is being borne by customers through the revised water prices that took place in June 1997.

These price revisions were made on the premise that the city will continue to strive to reduce the burden on customers through cost savings made by even more thoroughly efficient management, obtaining public subsidies, and effective use of assets to ensure income other than that from water bills. The fixed additional charge across all price categories was 20 yen per cubic meter (10 yen per cubic meter for excess water for public bathhouses). This was based on the concept that the factors that contributed most to the cost increase, improved earthquake resistance and the effect of implementing advanced water treatment, were widely applicable to all our users. Part of the overall cost of introducing advanced water treatment system is included in this 20 yen per cubic meter.

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I hadn’t been informed of the fee reductions for social welfare, and would therefore like to receive a backdated repayment of the exempted amount. Wasn’t it the fault of the Waterworks Bureau that I wasn’t informed?

This system stipulates that the amount corresponding to the base charge is exempt from the time of application, and therefore repayments cannot be backdated.

You ask whether it was the fault of the Waterworks Bureau that you were not informed of the system and were therefore unable to apply. However, we issue a leaflet every year entitled Osaka no suido “Water Supply in Osaka City Ethat is circulated by every Neighborhood Association, and the fee reductions for social welfare are also described in publications such as Suido no shiori (“Guide to Water Service E and Kurashi no benricho (“Guide to Living in Osaka E. We request your understanding on this point.

We will strive to carry out effective PR in future that will enable us to inform even more people about this system.

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Water is leaking from a place on my home’s side of the water meter. I reported this but you are taking time in coming to mend it. I can’t use the water supply, and what happens about the charge for the leaking water? Please respond quickly to both these concerns.

At the Waterworks Bureau we respond as quickly as possible to any reports of water leaks. As we may also have other maintenance or repair commitments, however, it is not always possible to send someone immediately. We request your understanding on this point.

Depending on the volume of water that has leaked, it may be possible to reduce the amount of water charged for. Please consult your nearest service office.

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I want to be able to pay my water bills from any account nationwide.

Based on the Criteria for Premises Designated for Collection of Public Funds, the Osaka City Waterworks Bureau has designated the following branches or premises as those for handling payments from accounts.

• Banks, credit unions and industrial banks
• Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Resona Bank
  …… All branches around the country
• Other banks, credit unions and industrial banks
  ……Authorized branches in Osaka Prefecture
  (Inquire with your financial institution for details)

• Credit associations
  …… Authorized branches in Osaka Prefecture
  (Inquire at your financial institution for details)

• Agricultural cooperative
  ……Osaka city branches

• Post office
  ……All post offices around the country

In response to requests from customers who wish to pay their water bills from accounts of financial institution branches nationwide, we made it possible to pay from all branches of the above-listed banks, credit unions and industrial banks, as well as from all post offices nationwide.

Construction Work

You have dug up the same place several times. Can’t public construction work be more efficient!? And every time the road is dug up, it increases the amount of bumps. Even small variations in level pose the hazard of falling over for elderly people like us. It’s too late to wait until an accident happens, so please do something to prevent bumps from being made.

Normally, when the Waterworks Bureau carries out waterworks construction work, we discuss with the Osaka Municipal Road Construction Coordination Council early in the design stage concerning whether or not it can be carried out together with work on other underground installations in a planned and reasonable way. Work is carried out simultaneously as far as possible, and we consult and coordinate with the objective of avoiding having roads dug up repeatedly.

In general, a number of conditions must be met if work is to be carried out simultaneously on two or more underground installations. These include the installations being at almost the same depth, their being located near each other, and the same method of work being employed. It is difficult to meet these conditions for roads in Osaka, where many underground installations are crowded close together.

In addition, to expand the scope of construction work ownership would have a significant effect on traffic and road transport for Osaka residents. The construction work to which you refer would have been judged at the advance coordination stage as difficult to carry out simultaneously. Nevertheless, in the present climate of pressing calls to streamline water supply business management, particularly through reductions in construction costs, the Waterworks Bureau will make even greater efforts to attempt to introduce this practice, and we ask your understanding on this matter.

Surface restoration takes place after each type of construction work is completed, with a temporary asphalt surface being put in place at the end of each day’s work to open the road.

As you point out, however, even a slight difference in levels is dangerous not only for pedestrians but also for bicycles, motorcycles, and other vehicles. The Waterworks Bureau therefore strictly instructs contractors not to create any difference in level between existing surfaces and the temporary surface produced during construction work.

In addition, the Bureau also patrols construction sites as required and immediately rectifies any difference in level created, however slight, in the effort to prevent accidents at construction sites before they can occur. We are grateful for your understanding and cooperation on this matter.

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The noise, vibration, and other disturbance caused by nighttime construction work are causing me a great deal of trouble, as it has given me insomnia and is affecting my work. I contacted the Maintenance Office responsible, but they completely failed to respond, saying only that they obtained consent from the chair of the Town Council and the Merchants EAssociation. Can’t anything be done about it?

Commercial districts are busy during the day with shoppers and delivery vehicles. When construction work is carried out in such areas, the Waterworks Bureau discusses this with the local Town Council and Merchants EAssociation, and in consideration of the safety of shoppers, pedestrians, and others may decide to carry out the work at night. In each case it will provide sufficient information on the noise caused by the construction work to people living along the street and nearby. For roads that lie partly outside commercial districts, the Bureau may obtain consent to carry out work during the day. We are grateful for your understanding and cooperation on this matter.

Water Quality

I live in an apartment complex. Should I be worried about the hygiene management of water receiving tanks and other areas?

Storage tank facilities are known as water storage tanks and conduits. They are categorized as either “small-scale private water supply, Ewhich has a water-receiving tank with an effective capacity of greater than 10 m3 and is regulated by the Water Supply Law, or as “small water storage tanks and conduits, Ewhich have a water-receiving tank with an effective capacity of 10 m3 or less and are not regulated.

Water quality management for water storage tanks and conduits are basically the responsibility of the owner of the building. For a small-scale private water supply, the Water Supply Law stipulates that it must be cleaned once a year and inspected by a designated inspection agency.

Small water storage tanks and conduits, which are not regulated under the Water Supply Law, are governed by the Osaka City Guidelines for Maintenance Procedures for Small-Scale Water Service Installation set out in collaboration with the Health and Welfare Bureau in April 1985. The Waterworks Bureau is instructing and educating the managers of such facilities on hygiene maintenance procedures such as yearly cleaning.

If such water quality management is properly carried out, water from storage tanks will be of the same quality to that of the direct-pressure water supply used in regular households. Osaka City has set up a Water Quality Advice Desk (Tel/Fax: 06-6646-1132), and offers advice to people living in apartment buildings who are worried about the quality of their water.

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I’ve heard that the water quality standard for lead has been revised. Does Osaka City meet the revised standard?

In line with amendments to the national Ministerial Ordinance, since April 1, 2003 the standard for the concentration of lead in the tap water supply was revised to <0.01 mg/L. As can be seen in the water quality testing results, the water supply in Osaka meets this standard. As a precaution, customers who use lead pipes should draw off a bucket of water first thing in the morning or after a long period of absence, and use this for purposes other than drinking.

Click here for water quality standards.

Fraudulent Officials and Waterworks Repair Operators

I was visited by a person claiming to be an official of the Waterworks Bureau, who tested the water quality and recommended a water purifier. Does the Waterworks Bureau really carry out visits like this?

Waterworks Bureau officials never visit customers Ehomes for purposes such as unsolicited repairs or to sell or recommend water purifiers. Officials carry an employee ID, so if you are suspicious you should request to see this identification or else contact a Waterworks Bureau service office or the police.

See here for more details.

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I had some work done by a plumber designated by the city of Osaka and received a bill for a large amount. Can’t the Waterworks Bureau issue guidance to this sort of repair operators?

According to the Water Supply Law, if an application is received from a contractor who possesses specified qualifications, in the absence of any prior illegality they must be designated.

Charges are a matter pertaining to the agreement between the customer and the contractor, and the Waterworks Bureau is unable to intervene in such situations. Should you enter into an agreement with a contractor to do some work, take precautions such as obtaining estimates from several different contractors beforehand or consulting one of our service offices. Should problems arise concerning charges, please consult the Osaka Municipal Consumers ECenter (Tel: 06-6614-0999).

Or see here.

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Water purifier salespeople say that trihalomethanes are dangerous. Is this true? And could you please also explain about residual chlorine concentration?

The tap water supply must still contain about 0.2 E.3 mg/L of chlorine for disinfection when it reaches household taps. Drinking this out of the tap has no effect on human health. On the contrary, a lack of residual chlorine would result in the fear of contamination by disease-causing bacteria such as O-157, and chlorine disinfection is therefore laid down in the Water Supply Law.

Trihalomethanes are produced during chlorine disinfection, but as the water provided by the Osaka City Waterworks Bureau has been purified by using advanced water treatment system, the concentration of trihalomethanes in tap water is well below the water quality standard. You can feel safe drinking tap water.

Other

Can’t the Waterworks Bureau publish information about the performance of water purifiers?

A wide variety of water purifiers are currently on the market, and in some cases advertisements for these claim that the tap water is dangerous unless a water purifier is installed. The Osaka City Waterworks Bureau has been providing safe, good-quality water purified by advanced water treatment system to the entire city since March 2000, and is actively using a variety of forms of publicity and media to publicize the fact that tap water is safe. The fact is, however, that advertisements for water purifiers are making customers needlessly worried and confused. The Waterworks Bureau will continue to give an even greater level of publicity to the safety of the tap water, and we would like all our customers to feel secure in drinking water from the tap.

We believe that water purifiers are basically unnecessary, as the water provided by the Waterworks Bureau has been purified by advanced water treatment system. As water purifiers vary greatly in their performance and effectiveness they cannot be lumped together, meaning it is difficult for the Waterworks Bureau to publish information about them.

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Little progress seems to have been made in upgrading water pipes that contain lead. What is the current situation in Osaka City?

No lead is used in the distribution pipes that are the main pipes of the water supply. Some lead pipes are still used, however, in service pipes that branch off from the distribution pipes to individual houses.

Lead pipes are easily processed and comparatively cheap, and lead was therefore used as a material for service pipes in Osaka City following the establishment of the city’s water supply in 1895. It remained the most commonly used material for service pipes until the adoption of rigid PVC pipes in 1956. The use of lead in sections of service pipes that run under roads was subsequently prohibited in 1981, and the Waterworks Bureau is now replacing the sections of lead service pipes that run under roads with ones made from impact-resistant rigid PVC (HI vinyl pipes) whenever it carries out any form of construction work. In 1987 the use of lead pipes inside houses was restricted (not permitted except for repair work), and the use of lead even in repair work was prohibited from January 1, 1994.

The history of the use of lead pipes in Osaka City is as described above, and as of March 2007 there were 369 km of lead pipes under roads.

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You should give greater publicity to the importance of water.

The Waterworks Bureau takes water from the Yodo River, purifies it, and pumps it to residents as their tap water. This means that protecting the water environment of Lake Biwa and the Yodo River tributary system, which form the city’s water source, results in the provision of good-quality tap water. For this reason the Waterworks Bureau is urging residents to conserve the water-source environment, and is pressing ahead with a range of initiatives to enable people to understand the importance of water.

Pure- Informational magazine about water (issued four times a year) has articles on original topics from the perspective of the importance of water and the water supply and makes a plea for water source and water quality conservation. It is available in sites frequented by city residents and water users.

The Water Museum , which adjoins the Kunijima Purification Plant, publicizes the importance of looking after water through its exhibitions of the freshwater fish that live in Lake Biwa and the Yodo River system, which form the city’s water source, and exhibits concerning the water supply. In addition, Waterworks Bureau staff do volunteer duty handing out small packs of tissues outside Osaka’s main railway stations in order to publicize and educate people about water-source conservation, as well as carrying out environmental beautification activities along the banks of the Yodo River.

These are the main PR activities engaged in by the Waterworks Bureau, but as you point out, these are incomplete in some aspects. In future we will take every opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of water through further publicity activities.

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The text of notice boards on Waterworks Bureau land is imperious and overbearing, and should be revised.

In line with your suggestion, the Waterworks Bureau has decided to use a more polite form of the language on notice boards (specifically, we will change the Japanese text from the expository “da/dearu Estyle to the polite “desu/masu Estyle in Japanese). We have also decided to review and revise the language used in the text of other notices or requests for residents Ecooperation.

[Page Customer Voices under Customer Voices on the Osaka City Waterworks Bureau Website ends here.]