Cry Me A River

Seriously, only in Japan could the public be accused of conserving too much water!

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Tokyo households have become so skilled at conserving water that municipal authorities are preparing to “punish” them by raising rates. The trend towards careful water husbandry is enabled by appliance manufacturers, such as Toto, Matsushita and Sharp, which produce washing machines, toilets and dishwashers that use a fraction of the water of their forebears five years ago. As a result, over those five years average water consumption in Japanese homes has fallen 10%, and water bills have tumbled, since most water use is metered. Consequently, Tokyo and Yokohama residents now face possible water-price hikes of 20%.

For the past two decades, the local water boards have been engaged in an expensive frenzy of dam-building and other engineering projects, to ensure a healthy water supply. The local governments never reckoned that people would use less water, and they still have to pay for these projects. Even after a recent government crackdown on unnecessary dam construction, there are 200 live projects at any given time nationwide.

Source: The Economist - Tokyo Briefing.