~ Pergamon Wal. Sci. T«". Vol.34. No. II. pp. 219-226. 1996.

Copyright 0 1996IAWQ. Published by Elsevier ScienceLId.

Printedin GreatBritain. All righlJreserved.
0273-1223t96515'00 + IHJO
PH: S0273-1223(96)00841-4

WASTEWATER RECLAMATION AND

REUSE IN JAPAN: OVERVIEW AND
IMPLEMENTATION EXAMPLES

T. Asano*, M. Maeda** and M. Takaki***

• Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. University ofCalifomia at
Davis Davis. CA 956/6, USA
•• Bureau ofSewerage, Tokyo Metropolitan Govemment Z-B»] Nishi-Shinjuku;
Shinjuku. Tokyo /63-0/, Japan
••• Sewage Works Bureau. Fukuoka City, 8-/, Tenjin I-chome Chuo-ku; Fukuoka
8/0,Japan

ABSTRACT
To alleviate potentially catastrophic water supply and wastewater disposal problems as well as expand
dependable water supply infrastructure. Japan has launched comprehensive urban wastewater reclamation
and reuse projects since 1968. In this paper, the status of national policies on wastewater treatment,
wastewater reusecharacteristics. and some wastewater reuseexperiences are presented. Two implementation
examples in Tokyo and Fukuoka are discussed in detail. with special reference to application for toilet-
flushing in high-rise business buildings and streamrestoration and flow augmentation. It was found that the
key to the success of wastewater reclamation and reuseis the quality of reclaimed water;publicacceptance is
closelyassociated with water quality and water supplydependability. Copyright e 1996IAWQ. Published
by ElsevierScienceLtd.

KEYWORDS
Criteria; dual distribution system; dual plumbing; Fukuoka City; Japan; reuse; stream restoration; toilet
flushing; Tokyo Metropolitan Districts; wastewater; wastewater reclamation; water quality; water resources.

INTRODucnON
Because Japan is located in the Asian monsoon region. its average annual precipitation is high - in the
neighborhood of 1.730 mm, which is about twice the world average. However. Japan's renewable freshwater
availability on per capita basis (4,428 m 3/year) is surprisingly low compared with the United States (9.913
m3/year) (Engelman et al.• 1993). because of the much smaller land space and higher population density.
Seasonal and geographical variations in rainfall have also created difficult challenges in water resource
development in the mountainous rural areas, as well as management of water resources in highly congested
urban areas. Thus concerns for water supply dependability and the possibility of severe water shortages in
drought years as well as in catastrophic events. such as an earthquake. have been particularly keen in the
minds of water supply engineers and water resource administrators in the major metropolitan areas. It is said
that the capacity of the existing water supply reservoirs serving the Metropolitan Tokyo Districts is about
one tenth of that of New York City and one eighteenth that of San Francisco.

219
 220 T. ASANO et al.

To alleviate potentially catastrophic water supply and wastewater disposal problems, as well as build reliable
water supply infrastructure, there has been a focused investment in building dams and water supply
reservoirs throughout Japan by the Ministry of Construction and the Water Resources Development Public
Corporation. In addition, several water conservation measures have been implemented in large metropolitan
areas, which include a few on-site wastewater reclamation and reuse systems for office buildings and
apartment complexes, or large-scale, district-wide wastewater reclamation and reuse systems provided by
regional wastewater treatment plants.

The purpose of this paper is to present the current status of wastewater reclamation and reuse in Japan which
includes: (I) national policies on wastewater treatment; (2) characteristics of wastewater reuse; (3) water
quality requirements and the applicable wastewater reuse criteria; (4) two case studies on the wastewater
reclamation and reuse systems implemented in the Tokyo Metropolitan Districts and Fukuoka City.

NATIONAL POLICIES ON WASTEWATER TREATMENT

The Japanese Government has heavily invested in the construction of drainage and sewerage systems, and
wastewater treatment facilities for water pollution control, environmental protection, and promotion of
amenities in the urban environment. Before the end of World War II, there was limited wastewater treatment
infrastructure in Japan. With the post-war construction booms investment on the extensive sewerage systems
and municipal wastewater treatment facilities started around 1958, and rapid growth followed. After a
succession of so-called "Sewerage Promotion Five-year Plans," Japan's sewered population reached about 50
% by 1995, and is expected to reach 65 % by 2000.

The construction of sewerage and wastewater treatment facilities will, it is hoped, produce large economic
investment effects due to: (I) a large percentage of investment being used for construction activities, not for
land purchase, which will stimulate the local economy; (2) construction activities stimulating business in
various professional disciplines, such as civil, mechanical, and electrical works and architectural design,
some of which have been chronically depressed; (3) sewerage works involving projects of various size
which benefit all segments of the construction industry; (4) private sector investment being stimulated by
such works as installing drainage and flush-toilet facilities, creating economic side-benefits; (5) construction
work being done throughout the year, avoiding seasonal layoffs; and (6) operation and maintenance (O&M)
expenditures for the constructed facilities benefiting local economies (Japan Sewage Works Assoc., 1994).

According to the most recent statistics, wastewater treatment facilities were being constructed in 1,970
locations; investment of the facilities totaled approximately 3.646 x 109 yen (approx. 36.5 million U.S.
dollars). The invested monetary value constituted 0.7 % of Japan's GNP and 8.6 % of the government
infrastructure investments in 1992 (Japan Sewage Works Assoc., 1993; National Land Agency, 1994).

WASTEWATER REUSE CHARACTERISTICS

An early wastewater reclamation and reuse practice in Japan started in 1951 as experimental work for
supplying industrial waters for a paper manufacturing mill from nearby Mikawashima Wastewater
Treatment Plant in Tokyo (Maeda et al., 1996). The reason this mill decided to use the treated effluent was
that the quality of river water used had deteriorated and become unusable. The groundwater was not
available economically due to the excessive pumping by the nearby industries, causing saltwater intrusion
and land subsidence. Since then, the supply of reclaimed water has expanded to dozens of industries
nearby.

In recent decades, most wastewater reclamation and reuse practiced in Japan has been for direct, non-
potable, urban wastewater reuse. This generally takes place in two schemes: (I) wastewater reclamation
(that is, treatment) and reuse takes place on the same site, such as in large office buildings or apartment
complexes; and (2) district-wide urban distribution pipeline and dual plumbing systems with reclaimed
water supplied from publicly owned wastewater treatment works (POTWs). In some cases, stormwaters
 Wastewater reclamation and reuse in Japan 221

from large-roofed areas such as a sports arena is collected. stored. and used for beneficial purposes such as
irrigating nearby landscape areas and toilet-flushing within the buildings.

As of 1991. there were 876 POTWs operating in Japan. discharging approximately 110 x 10K mJfyear of
secondary treated effluents. Of these. approximately I x 10K mJfyear of reclaimed wastewater from 99
POTWs are reused beneficially in such uses as: industrial uses (41%). environmental water and flow
augmentation (32%), agricultural irrigation (13%), non-potable urban use and toilet-flushing (8%), and
seasonal snow-melting and removal (4 %).

Contrary to the arid or semi-arid regions of the world where agricultural and landscape irrigation are the
major beneficial use of reclaimed wastewater, wastewater reuse in Japan is dominated by the various non-
potable, urban uses such as toilet-flushing. industrial use. stream restoration and flow augmentation to create
so-called "urban amenities." Figure I shows the comparative diagrams for Japan and California, depicting
the various reclaimed water uses and the corresponding volumes per year (State Water Resources Control
Board, 1990; Japan Sewage Works Assoc., 1994). Recycling of industrial wastewater within factories, as
well as wastewater reuse within the POTWs is not included in these diagrams.

mettl removal
f1nd~nal use 2% I
6%
Non·potable urban useand 'RecreallOOal,mpounatnenls J~. I I . fOther OO !l" ed uses 1% I
toolet./lushlng 8%
r- - - 4 ••
I Wildlife habl1at 4% I - .,

l00~ml/year 1 CaillorDla
432 I 10" m'/yeat

Figure I. Types and volume of wastewater reuse in Japan and California.

At present, wastewater reuse in Japan is less that I % of the treated effluent generated, and its impact on an
overall water balance in the river basins or body of receiving waters is small. However, wastewater
reclamation and beneficial uses of reclaimed water are significant locally. as in the cases of the Tokyo
Metropolitan Districts and Fukuoka City. Reclaimed water can be a valuable water resource located right at
the doorstep of a metropolis, and can be put to use in an emergency situation, such as a catastrophic
earthquake. Wastewater reclamation and reuse are. thus. perceived by the public as an important element in
the water cycle, and a valuable water resource in the urban environment.

Table I summarizes the current status of wastewater reclamation and reuse in Japan. Several representative
examples of the existing reuse sites are also included. Much reclaimed water in the amount of 15,000 m Vd
has been used, purposefully, for the flow augmentation in the NakagawalMikasagawa River Development:
and two other flow augmentation projects are being planned for the Inagawa River (100.000 mVd) and the
Arakawa River (303,400 mVd) (National Land Agency, 1994).
 222 T. ASANOet al.

Table I. Statusof wastewater reclamation and reuse in Japan (1991 data)"

ReuseCategories Number of Reuse Implementation Examples
Treatment Volume
Plants in Treatment Plant Flowrate Applications
I,OOOm3/year m3/day
I. Toilet flushing 12 1,899 Ochiai/Tokyo 2,880 Shinjuku tall-building
complexes
2. Cleansing 21 6,249 Shibaura/Tokyo 388 JR Superexpress
water trains
3. Industrial water 3 17,946 Sennen/Nagoya 19,050 City of Nagoya

4. Coolingwater 19 7,740 Kogosaki/Kita- 723 Garbage incineration

Kyushu factory
5. Dilutionwater 16 16,837 Nishiural 4,852 Night soil treatment
Funabashi plant
6. Agricultural 7 12,789 Rendaiji I 23,622 Irrigation district
irrigation Kumamoto
7. Environmental 20 32,927 Tamagawa-joryu 36,100 Flowaugmentation
water I Tokyo
8. Landscape II 263 AshiyalAshiya 450 City parks
irrigation
9. Snowmelting II 5,985 YaedalAomori 22,320 City streets

(120~
Total 99 1OOxl 06m3/year

'Adapted fromJapanSewageWorks Assoc., 1993;National LandAgency, 1994.

~Owing to multipleusesfromthe samewastewater treatment facilities.

WATER QUALITY REQUIREMENTS

The most critical issue concerning reclaimed water qualityis the protection (!j public health from pathogenic
microorganisms. It is also important that the reclaimed water possesses quality characteristics that are not
aesthetically objectionable. The widely used wastewater reclamation criteria in Japan are prescribed in the
Ministry of Construction's "DraftTechnical Guidelines for Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse", issued in
1981 (Japan SewageWorks Assoc., 1994). Table 2 summarizes applicable guidelines from this publication.
There are two other relatedcriteria available whichare issuedby the Ministry of Healthand Welfareand the
Japan SewageWorks Association; however, the contentsare not too different.

IMPLEMENTAnON EXAMPLES

Two examplesof the wastewater reclamation and reuse in Tokyo and Fukuokaare discussed belowwith the
salientfindings.

1. Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse in the Tokyo Met!"Qpolitan Districts (Maeda et 01., 1996; Okuno,
undated)

Becauseof highlyconcentrated population and businessactivities in the limitedland spacewithinthe Tokyo

Metropolitan Districts, and complex water rights arrangements with the neighboring prefectures, concerns
have been expressed that the increasing demands for water have not been met reliably in recent decades
from the existing freshwater sources. In fact, since 1965, it has been difficult for Tokyo to develop any
large-scale. new source of water to meet the increasing demands. While searching for a resolution for
 Wastewater reclamation and reuse in Japan 223

transporting water from distant watersheds, both water conservation and wastewater reclamation and reuse
have been promoted vigorously by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. To facilitate water conservation, an
increasing block rate structure of charges was introduced for water and wastewater; thus the water rate
increased sharply with an increase in water consumption. To promote wastewater reclamation and reuse,
many new buildings were requested to provide dual distribution/plumbing systems for water supply. An
average water consumption for an office building in Tokyo was 10 Vm2/d. The largest water use is for toilet-
flushing and is about 40 % of the total use in large office buildings (Okuno, undated).

Table 2. Reclaimed water quality guidelines'

Parameters Toilet flush water Landscape irrigation Environmental water
Criteria Coliform bacteria ~IO Not detected Not detected
(countlmL)
Chlorine residual Trace amount ~0.4
(combined),mgfL
Guidelines Appearance Not unpleasant Not unpleasant Not unpleasant
Turbidity, unit ~IO
BOD,mgfL ~IO
Odor Not unpleasant Not unpleasant Not unpleasant
pH, unit 5.8-8.6 5.8-8.6 5.8-8.6
'Adapted from Japan Sewage Works Assoc., 1993.

Table 3 shows summary of wastewater reclamation and reuse in the Tokyo Metropolitan Districts. Two
epoch-making projects, the "Water Recycling Project in the Shinjuku District," and the "Clean Stream
Restoration Project" were implemented in 1984, and continue to expand today.

Table 3. Summary of wastewater reclamation and reuse in the Tokyo Metropolitan Districts.
Wastewater treatment plant Reclaimed water uses Volume, 1,000 mJ/year
Shibaura Passenger train washing III
Sunamachi Dust control 6
Morigasaki Refuse incineration plant 386
Mikawashima Industrial water 8,835
Ochiai Toilet flushing 970
Tamagawa-Joryu Stream augmentation 12,370
'After Maeda 1'1 al., 1995.

Wastewaler Reuse Project in the Shinjuku District. A site of an old water treatment plant consisting of
approximately I km2 area in the Shinjuku District was designated for urban redevelopment in 1968 to
establish a business and commercial center including a high-rise Tokyo Metropolitan Government building.
The existing water supply system, which had operated since 1965, did not have extra capacity to meet the
high-density urban renewal undertakings which demanded huge quantities of new water supply. In addition.
the existing sewerage and wastewater treatment facilities could not handle increased flow of municipal
wastewater generated from these buildings. Thus the wastewater reclamation and reuse project was planned
with a daily maximum distribution capacity of 4,000 ml/d and service area of 0.5 km 2• The distribution of
reclaimed water began in 1984 and, currently, 19 high-rise buildings are provided with reclaimed water for
toilet-flushing. A daily maximum of 4,300 m l and a daily average of 2,700 m l were delivered to these office
and commercial buildings in 1993.

The tertiary treated effluent via sand filtration (single medium, up-flow filters) is pumped from the Ochial
Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Shinjuku Water Recycling Center, approximately 3 km away.
The Recycling Center, which is located in the basement of the Tokyo Hilton Hotel, is equipped with a
224 T. ASANO et al.

distribution reservoir, chlorine (sodium hypochlorite) disinfection facility, distribution pumps and a control
room. The disinfected reclaimed water is distributed to each building through reclaimed water lines for
toilet-flushing. The total length of distribution pipes is 2.9 km. Each building has a reclaimed water tank,
and the reclaimed water is pumped to a rooftop tank for distribution with 0.5 kg/cm2 pressure within the
building (Maeda et al., 1996). In 1991, the wastewater reclamation and reuse facilities were expanded to
8,000 ml daily maximum and the service area of 0.8 km2 was commenced with new construction of
pumpingfacilities and forced mains.

More than half of the initial construction funding for the project came from national government subsidies
(1.6 x 109 yen): the rest were from a loan (1.0 x 109 yen) and connection fees (0.5 x 109 yen). As the project
is a government sponsored one, it is required to be self-supporting; the loan for the construction and O&M
costs must be paid by the sale of reclaimed water. Thus the price of reclaimed water is set at 250 yen/m! up
to 15,000m3/month, and 200 yen/m! beyond 15,000ml/month. In addition, consumption tax of 3 % is added
to the total amount. The reclaimed water rate is set lower than the domestic water supply rate; for example,
for a 6,000 m3/month water use, the potable water rate is 667 yen/m! and the reclaimed water is 540 yen/m3,
a saving of approximately 20 % (Maeda et al., 1996). The cost of dual plumbing in the building is the
responsibility of the buildingowner.

The Clean Stream Restoration Project in the Nobidome Stream. The Nobidome Stream once provided an
attractiveriverine environment in an inner suburb of Tokyo. However, the headwater was diverted in 1976,
and, subsequently, the stream dried up and had the appearance of an open sewer and refuse dump. The
project to restore the stream was initiated by diverting 15,000 ml/d of tertiary treated effluent (via sand
filtration and partial phosphorus removal) from the Tamajo Wastewater Treatment Plant. To improve the
esthetic quality of reclaimed water further, chemical coagulation (with the 10-15 mg/l polyalminium
chloride) and ozonation (5·10 mg/l) processes were added in 1989. The total capital investment for the
project was 4.3 x 109 yen and the operating cost for chemicals and electricity was 12 yen/m! (Okuno,
undated). The key factorof success in public acceptance was the qualityof reclaimed water.

2. WastewaterReclamation and Reuse SystemModelProject in FUkuoka City

FukuokaCity is locatedin northern Kyushu, the southern-most island of Japan. It covers approximately 340
km2 and the population is about 1.3 million. The average annualprecipitation of the area is about 1,600mm;
however, stable water supply sources are not available in the region for the municipal and industrial water
supply,becauseof the geographical location of the city and lack of large rivets and availablegroundwater in
the region. As a consequence, Fukuoka City suffered several severe droughts in the past, for example, in
1978 and 1994,when the municipal water supply had to be restricted for 300 days (SewageWorks Bureau,
FukuokaCity, undated).

Learning from the experience, the Fukuoka City Council introduced the Water Conservation Plan in
February 1979and set forth the course of action the city would pursue to ensure stable water supply for the
future. The Water Conservation Plan consisted of: (I) promoting water-conserving appliances such as the
water-conserving toilet (from 13-151 to 8-IOVf1ush), and water-saving valves and regulators, (2)
preventing/reducing water distribution losses due to pipeline leakage,(3) wastewater reclamation and reuse
for toilet-flushing and landscape uses, and (4) publiceducation/awareness on waterconservation.

Among the water conservation options listed above, wastewaterreclamation and reuse became an important
option for the city in providing new source of water. Beginning June 1980, twelve public buildings were
supplied with reclaimed water, in the amount of 400 ml/d, for toilet-flushing. Following the success of the
initial project, which was subsidized by Ministry of Construction grants, the supply line was extended to
include several large buildings, both public and private. The City further augmented the supply capacity of
reclaimed water in 1992 to accommodate the increased water demand due to urban development. Fukuoka
City plans to expand its wastewater reuse projects in the newly incorporated areas as well as expanding the
service area from the current 316 ha to 770 ha. Accordingly, the reclaimed water flow was increased to
 Wastewater reclamation and reusein Japan 22S

4,500 m3/d in August 1995; eventually, it will reach 8,000 m3/d . Table 4 shows the status of wastewater
reclamation and reuse in FukuokaCity in 1994 (SewageWorks Bureau, FukuokaCity, undated).

Table 4. Status of wastewater reclamation and reuse in FukuokaCity in 1994(SewageWorks Bureau,

FukuokaCity, undated)

Reusecategory Numbersof installation Averagevolumeof use, m3/d

Wastewater reuse from the Chubu 94 1,460
Wastewater TreatmentPlant"
Wastewater reclamation and reuse 215 3,300
in individual buildings"
'Wastewater reuse applications are mainly for toilet flushing; but also for landscape irrigation, fire fighting, and water for
construction sites.
~New buildings with over S,OOO ml of floorspaceor intakewaterlineof over SO mm in diameter are required to install dual
plumbing systems in the building and individual wastewater treatment facilities for wastewater reclamation and reuse.
Reclaimed wateris used mainlyfor toiletflushing; butalsofor miscellaneous landscape usesaroundbuildings.

Treatment Processes and Reclaimed Water Ouality.The wastewater treatment process used in FukuokaCity
is a conventional activated sludge process followed by tertiary treatment consisting of granular medium
filtration, ozonation for odor and color removal, and chlorine disinfection. The water quality monitoring
includes all parameters listed in Table 2 plus COD measurement. All monitoring results are well within the
guideline values. The 1993 monitoring report showed coliform bacteria less than 10 countslml for both
treated effluent and delivered reclaimed water with corresponding residual chlorine concentrations of 3.2
mgll and 0.6 mgll, respectively. The COD values, measured by the potassium permanganate method, were
5.9 mgll and 6.3 mgll, respectively (Sewage Works Bureau, Fukuoka City, undated). To prevent accidental
cross-connection to domestic water supply lines in the dual plumbing system, reclaimed water pipes were
clearly marked yellow, and wrapped in yellow tapes with "treated wastewater" printed on them. Dye tracer
tests and conductivitymeasurements were conductedat the beginningof the pipe installation.

Cost of Reclaimed Water. In the early days of wastewater reuse, the costs of distribution facilities and
reclaimed water were highly subsidized. However, as the system grew, the sale of reclaimed water increased
and has now reached the point where the cost matches income from the sale of reclaimed wastewater;
despite reclaimed water being sold at 16 % discount of domestic water price. The cost of reclaimed water in
1993was 350 yenlm3 ($3.5/m3) (SewageWorks Bureau,FukuokaCity, undated).

SUMMARYAND CONCLUSIONS

Full-scale wastewater reclamation and reuse projects in the Metropolitan Tokyo Districts and Fukuoka City
are discussed. In the successful implementation of wastewater reuse, a key factor in public acceptance was
the high quality of reclaimedwater. It was found that the prerequisiteto high-quality reclaimedwater was a
good secondary treatment; preferably the secondary treatment process should be operated at near steady
flow, and low and constant BOD and SS loadings. It was also found through these projects that, for the
toilet-flushing application, sand filtration and high-dose chlorination (up to about 8 mgll residual chlorine)
are the recommended practice (Okuno, undated). For stream restoration and flow augmentation, chemical
coagulation, filtration, and ozonation are the necessary requirements to maintain acceptable esthetic quality
as well as controlling foaming and the breeding of water-borne insects, such as mosquitoes.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors thank Mr. Kazuaki Kawamoto, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and Dr. Naoyuki Funamizu,
Hokkaido University, Sapporo,Japan for providing valuableassistancein the preparationof this paper.
226 T. ASANOet al.

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Maeda, M., Nakada, K.., Kawamoto. K.. and Ikeda, M. (1996). Area-wide Use of Reclaimed Water in Tokyo. Japan, Wat. Sci.
Tech. 33(1~1 I).
National LandAgency, Water Resources Department (1994).The WaterResources of Japan, Tokyo. Japan,
Okuno,N. (undated). "FullScale Implementation of Wastewater reuse in Tokyo," Internal Paper.Bureauof Sewerage. The Tokyo
Metropolitan GovernmenL
SewageWorksBureau,FukuokaCity (undated). Wastewater Reclamation and ReuseSystem- ModelProject.
Stale Water Resources Control Board. State of California, California Municipal Wastewater Reclamation in 1987, (updated in
conversation with Mills.R. A.• lanuary , 1996). Sacramento. CA. June \990.