Kawasaki City Eyes Exporting Water Resources For Industrial Use to Western Australia

Kawasaki, one of the largest cities in Japan, announced on August 24, 2010, its plan to study the feasibility of exporting water resources for industrial use to Western Australia, where it will be reused to counteract water shortages, a serious problem there. Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, is one of the major industrial areas in Japan (Keihin industrial zone) alongside Ota Ward in Tokyo and Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture. This project is considering to implement the study and will be conducted in cooperation with the Government of Western Australia. According to the plan, a ship would make a round trip from Western Australia to Japan, carrying iron ore on the outward trip and water resources for industrial use on the return trip. If launched, the effort will be the first of its kind nationwide.

The ships from Western Australia that have unloaded their iron ore in Japan fill their ballast tanks with seawater to maintain their balance on return. The idea of this plan is to reuse water resources for industrial use as ballast water instead of seawater.

The water to be shipped is used for industrial plants in the city, such as cooling water.
Western Australia will use the water to prevent the dust of iron ore at port area. This plan is not only expected to solve the problem of chronic shortages of water in the area and environmental issues caused by the use of sea-based ballast water, but also to create a new business scheme.

Private enterprises will also take part in the joint-research stage of this project and will investigate methods for loading water resources for industrial use onto ships, facility preparation, and profit distribution for about five months. And after this study, the city plans to start an experimental study.

Creating a City Where "Environment" and "Economy" Go Together: Environmental Measures in Kawasaki City (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/
028528.html

Posted: 2011/01/22 06:00:15 AM