水が出た！出た！！水が出た!!!

北海道から熊本まで給水応援ありがとう
蛇田浄水場は、25メートルプール約１３５個分の水が作れる大きな浄水場で、石巻市と東松島市に水を送っている。水道企業団にある浄水場のなかで、この浄水場が一番大きな被害を受けた。
地震で地面がデコボコになり、水がもれた。そのあと、停電して、機械が動かなくなり、水が作れなくなった。さらに、地盤沈下して地面が下がってしまい液状化現象がおきたため、柱や壁が壊れてしまった。そのために、でき上がった水道水を各家庭へ送ることができなくなった。道路の下にある水道管も壊れてしまったので、全部で１７００キロメートルぐらいある水道管をすべて点検しなければならなかった。これは、鉄道で石巻から九州まで届くぐらいの長さだそうだ。浄水場に電気が通ったのは、早いところで震災から3日後。それから昼も夜も水を作る作業をした。最初に石巻赤十字病院に水を送ったそうだ。
水道水が出ない人の所には、給水車がまわってくれた。震災翌々日の3月13日から7月1日の間には、北海道から熊本まで、全国から給水車が来てくれた。指定避難所が３５０か所くらいあったが、津波で使えなくなった所も多く、市内のいろいろなところで給水をした。
今、人が生活しているところはすべて復旧したけれど、門脇町や南浜町、釜地区など、まだ水道が復旧していないところもある。北上や雄勝の浄水施設は建物ごと津波に飲み込まれたため、浄水場が使えなくなってしまった。これらの場所は、これから石巻市と東松島市の復興計画に合わせて復旧するそうだ。
地震や津波で水が使えなくなったときのために、１日１人３リットル、３日分のペットボトルを用意しておくといいそうだ。水道水は塩素で消毒しているため、安全に飲める期間が３日間ぐらい。だから、時間がたったら、トイレなどの生活用水に使う。今回、飲み水は支援物資で届いたが、生活用水が不足した。日頃からお風呂、やかん、ポットに水をためておくといいそうだ。避難所の高校で、みんなで協力してプールの水をバケツでトイレに運んで使ったことを思い出した。
震災から3週間後の４月1日、避難していたおじいちゃんの家に水が出た。その時はすごくうれしくて、また普通の生活に戻れると思って安心した。弟やお母さんたちと「水が出た出た水が出た!!!」と歌って踊って喜んだ。その時の様子を弟が絵に描いた。

取材・文・写真：酒井 理子（門脇小学校４年生）

2013/03/11
The water’s here! It’s here! The water’s here!!!
Thank you for everyone from Hokkaido to Kumamoto for coming by water tunkers

Riko Sakai| 4th year, Kadonowaki Elementary School

The Hebita Purification Plant can produce enough water to fill 135 25-meter swimming pools and sends water to Ishinomaki and Higashi Matsushima area. Among the purification plants in Ishinomaki city this one received the worst damage.

The earthquake made the ground uneven and water seeped out. After that there were power cuts and machinery stopped working. The plant couldn’t produce any water. To make matters worse, the ground subsided and liquefied which destroyed the supporting columns and walls. Because of this, water couldn’t be sent to all the houses. A total of about 1700km of water pipelines had to be inspected because the water pipes beneath the ground had also broken. That’s roughly the distance of the train line from Ishinomaki to Kyushu. The first places to have electricity restored still needed to wait until 3 days after the earthquake. Then everyone worked day and night to produce clean water. The Ishinomaki Red Cross Hospital was the first place the water was sent to.

A water supply vehicle delivered water to people who lived in areas with no running water. From March 13th to July 1st, the day following the earthquake, water supply vehicles came from all over Japan, from Hokkaido to Kumamoto. Even though there were about 350 designated evacuation centers, the tsunami rendered many of them unusable so water had to be delivered all over Ishinomaki. ”

In areas where people are living now, the water supply has been fully restored. However, some places in Kadonowaki, Minamihama and the Kama region still do not have running water. Water purification plants in Kitakami and Ogatsu were swallowed by the tsunami and became unusable. According to the Ishinomaki and East Matsushima reconstruction plans, these areas will be restored in the days ahead.

It’s a good idea for everyone to keep a 3-day supply of water in plastic bottles (3 litres per person per day). As tap water can be contaminated by chlorine, once opened the water should be consumed within 3 days. If any water is left over it can be used for flushing toilets and other domestic purposes. Last time drinking water was delivered as emergency aid, but there was a shortage of water for domestic uses. You can save the water in baths, kettles and pots. In the high school where we sheltered, I remember we all worked together using buckets, to deliver water from the swimming pool to the toilets.

On April 1st, 3 weeks after the disaster, water came out from the tap at my grandad’s where we were sheltered. I felt so relieved and thought we could go back to the normal life we had before. My younger brother, my mum and I sang and danced with joy. “The water’s here! It’s here! The water’s here!” My younger brother drew a picture of that day.

Special thanks to The Japan Foundation London Office Language Center

Mr Oliver Gryce, Ms Vanessa Abel, Mr Luke Adams, Mr Stuart Adams, Ms Cheryl Aldridge, Ms Josephine Audigier, Mr Timothy Bennett, Mr Levi Booth, Mr Simon Campbell, Miss Mikki Carlton, Mr Michael Carson, Mrs Ramata Cisse, Mrs Joanna Dare, Miss Isabelle Demaude, Miss Jennifer Dixon, – JAMES GAHAN, Ms Alison Gray, Mr Alan Gross, Ms Hannah Hunt, Ms Catherine Jakszta, Mr Edmund Jones, Mr Mustafa Kasim, Mr Keith Kelly, Miss Miki Kojima, Miss Ka Yan Li, Ms Angela Maggs, Ms Susan Meehan, Mrs Fiona Michishige, Ms Forum Mithani, Mr Chris Mudie, miss Karolina Nalaskowska, Ms. Takako Nose, Mr James Ovenden, Master Takasolo Ovenden, Ms Heidi Potter, Mr Alex Poulidis, Mr Daniel Pumbien, Miss Carley Radford, Ms Pamela Ravasio, Miss Poppy Reid, Mrs Claire Rennie, Ms Judith Reynolds, Mr Ed Richards, Ms Hana Sato, Ms Yilin Sim, Miss Kei Wun Siu, Mr Kevin Squibb, Ms Catherine Stead, Mr Peter Sutcliffe, Mr. Eric Sward, Ms Kyoko Tanno, Ms Claire Thompson, Ms Arisa (Alissa) Wada (Hew), Mrs Kerry Williams, Ms Kim Woodruff, Dr Haru Yamada, Miss Leanne Yu, Mr Seiji Fukushima, Ms Yuko Murata, Ms Eriko Nishikawa, Ms Takako Nose, Ms Hiroko Tanaka