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[“De-construction” business] Tackling challenges in the field of aging water infrastructure – Aiming to improve sustainability
SDGs to which we contribute and why we should contribute to SDGs
In the field of water supply, industrial water supply, and sewerage which are the foundations that support people's lives and industries, we contribute to the improvement of sustainability of infrastructure including pipelines through public-private partnership projects, etc.
Water infrastructure such as waterworks and sewerage is an important social infrastructure supporting the lives of citizens and industries. The development of water infrastructure was started after the war in the mid-1940s and has rapidly advanced especially since the period of high economic growth, and water infrastructure has played an important role in supporting postwar reconstruction and development. In recent years, however, the infrastructure has been aging and the number of facilities that require renewal or the like has been rapidly increasing. It is required to conduct strategic maintenance, renewal, etc. of aging facilities and promote continuous efforts to reduce risk in the future.
Aging of water pipelines
As of the end of FY2021, the total length of water conduits, water transmission pipes, and water distribution pipes in the businesses that are subject to laws and regulations is 759,252 km and the length of pipelines used beyond the statutory useful life is 169,807 km, which is an increase of 13,050 km, 8.3% from the previous fiscal year (156,757 km). The aging ratio of pipelines is 22.4%, which is increasing every year.
The length of pipelines that were renewed in FY2021 is 4,908 km, which is a decrease of 260 km, 5.0% from the previous fiscal year (5,168 km). The renewal rate of pipelines is 0.6%, which is a decrease of 0.1 point from the previous fiscal year (0.7%). The renewal of water pipelines constructed during the period of high economic growth is not proceeding and those pipelines are expected to be progressively deteriorated. Therefore, appropriate maintenance and renewal are required.
Source) Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
State of aging of sewerage pipelines
As of the end of FY2021, the total length of sewerage pipelines under management is about 490 thousand km, which is an enormous stock. The length of sewerage pipelines that were constructed over 50 years ago is about 30 thousand km (about 6% of the total length) and will be about 90 thousand km (18% of the total) 10 years later and 200 thousand km (41% of the total) 20 years later. The rate is expected to increase. In FY2021, about 2,700 road collapse accidents arising from sewerage pipelines occurred. Therefore, it is required that the enormous stock of sewerage pipelines be efficiently inspected, examined, and repaired or reconstructed in the future.
Source) Civil Engineering Journal
Contributing to the improvement of sustainability of water infrastructure and the decarbonized society through Water PPP
The government incorporated a new public-private initiative “Water PPP” project into the “PPP/PFI Promotion Action Plan” which was revised in June 2023. In addition to the aging of water infrastructure, labor shortage in municipalities that manage water infrastructure is becoming a serious issue. In such a situation, the government set up a policy of further strengthening public-private partnership in the water sector to enhance the sustainability of service.
Our company has achieved many results through public-private partnership (PPP/PFI) including concessions and comprehensive private contracting in the field of infrastructure such as airports and roads and also accumulated expertise in the legal system and management. We are now creating a system that enables us to provide a one-stop service. In the water sector, we started two concession projects, “Osaka City Industrial Water Supply Specified Management Business” and “Miura City Public Sewerage (for East Area Treatment District) Management Business.” In these projects, we will achieve solid results so that we can provide a model for “Water PPP” and address the challenge of improving sustainability of the water infrastructure service that municipalities throughout the country are facing.
In water PPPs, the contribution to the realization of a decarbonized society is also considered to be important. The social demand for decarbonization has been increasing, and sewage sludge has a high potential as an effective regional resource that could contribute to the realization of a decarbonized society. Our company is also going to enter into new fields of business, for example, the utilization of biomass such as sewage sludge, by utilizing our expertise obtained through the operation of renewable energy businesses, etc.
Our company has been engaged in the business operations of “Osaka City Industrial Water Supply Specified Management Business” and “Miura City Public Sewerage (for East Area Treatment District) Management Business,” which are described hereafter.
Osaka City Industrial Water Supply Specified Management Business
Japan's first private business operator to be authorized by the minister of economy, trade and industry
In April 2022, we started “Osaka City Industrial Water Supply Specified Management Business” which is Japan's first concession business by a private business operator to be authorized by the minister of economy, trade and industry to operate as an industrial water supply business operator. For 10 years until March 2032, the Special-Purpose Company (SPC) “Miotsukushi Industrial Water Concession Co., Ltd.” in which Maeda Corporation is the largest shareholder will be engaged in the comprehensive operation of the industrial water supply business, including inspection, maintenance, and renewal of pipelines and water purification and distribution facilities as well as the collection of water rates.
Business execution policy
The issues confronted by Osaka City in its industrial water supply business are a decrease in revenue from water supply due to the improvement of water-saving technology, etc., an increase in cost due to the renewal of aging facilities, etc., and difficulty in the operation due to a shortage of employees, etc. Therefore, Osaka City has set up the following business execution policy.
- ・In this project, we shall implement a sustainability strategy in the three fields of [1] revenue base, [2] cost structure, and [3] operation system and establish an “Osaka industrial water supply model” as a sustainable system of the industrial water supply business.
- ・We shall promote the “Osaka industrial water supply model” nationwide and make full efforts in this project so that the model can become a channel marker (Miotsukushi) that will lead to the solutions of the nationwide issues in the industrial water supply business.
[1] Efforts to establish a ‘Sustainable revenue base’
We will introduce a new water rate plan which users can select.
We will conduct a survey by questionnaires and hearings for users to understand the potential needs of users and issues for water use and aim to increase the demand and profitability. We will also promote efforts to increase users by support measures for new users.
[2] Efforts to establish a ‘Sustainable cost structure’
We will introduce advanced technologies such as various sensors and satellite image analysis in pipeline facilities and water purification and distribution facilities to conduct condition monitoring and preventive maintenance.
Especially, aging pipelines used beyond the statutory useful life (40 years) occupy about 80% of the total length of pipelines, but it is not realistic to renew all aging pipelines. Therefore, we shall prevent large-scale water leakage accidents by early detection of water leakage and repair, carefully select pipelines with a high incidence of water leakages, and renew the selected pipelines, thereby aiming to extend the useful life of pipelines and reduce the overall cost by an optimal combination of renewal and repair. Specifically, in the first year, we introduced detection of water leakage by satellite image analysis, leakage sound sensors, correlation type water leakage detectors, etc. and have conducted verification.
[3] Efforts to establish a ‘Sustainable operation system’
We aim for an efficient multitasking operation implementation system in which each employee can conduct duties other than his/her own within the possible range.
In this project, we have to deal with emergency operations, such as dispatch to the site and customer response in the event of sudden water leakage, for 24 hours a day 365 days a year. The formulation of operation knowledge and expertise (operation manual, in-house workshop) and promotion of operation improvement by use of ICT tools, etc. have enabled all employees to deal with emergency operations in a multitasking manner. We will also promote multitasking of other operations in the future.
Condition monitoring and maintenance of pipelines at Miotsukushi
For the condition monitoring and maintenance of pipelines, we have established a system with a combination of multiple condition monitoring technologies as shown in the Figures. Specifically, the degree of social impact in the event of water leakage and the probability of water leakage are calculated for each pipeline and classified into five levels of large-scale water leakage risks by a risk matrix. According to the classified level, an optimal condition monitoring technology is applied. We have adopted a method of narrowing down the water leakage investigation range in a stepwise manner by wide-area investigation, area investigation, and spot investigation. So far, individual technologies have been introduced on a trial basis by other water supply business companies, but Miotsukushi is the first company to systematically establish and apply the condition monitoring technology according to the large-scale water leakage risk level.
Among the investigation methods, the investigation by satellite image analysis and the investigation by water leakage sound sensors have been attracting attention. In the investigation by satellite image analysis, the characteristic that the microwave irradiated by a satellite is reflected in water in the ground is used and the reflection data is analyzed to detect water leakage while groundwater and sewage are differentiated from leaked water. Based on the result, surveys by area investigation and spot investigation have been conducted. In the investigation by water leakage sound sensors, about 100 sensors were installed in about 12 km of prioritized monitoring pipelines which have the highest risk of large-scale water leakage and continuous remote monitoring is being conducted.
In addition, we are analyzing the water quantity and pressure data obtained from telemeters, etc. In the future, based on these wide-area investigation results, we will conduct area investigation and spot investigation sequentially, thereby detecting water leakage in its early stage and taking measures such as repair as necessary.
Furthermore, based on various data obtained through implementation of the businesses, we plan to review the risk assessment method for large-scale water leakage in pipelines and improve the condition monitoring and maintenance method.
| Ordering party |
Osaka City Waterworks Bureau |
|---|---|
| Operating right holder |
Miotsukushi Industrial Water Concession Co., Ltd. |
| Investing companies |
MAEDA CORPORATION, Nippon Koei Co., Ltd., NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE WEST CORPORATION, Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corporation |
| Period | April 2022 to March 2032 (10 years) |
| Target facilities |
* About 80% of all pipelines have been used beyond the statutory useful life of 40 years. |
| Business content |
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Voice of a person in charge
Hirotaka Yajima
We interviewed one of the people in charge of the Miotsukushi Industrial Water Concession Co., Ltd.
At Miotsukushi, I am in charge of a wide range of operations in the customer center, such as general affairs, accounting works including account settlement, response to inquiries from users, sales operations for the cultivation of new customers, and PR of industrial water.
The project was started in April 2022 and the first year has just ended. It was full of first experiences such as operations from supply and meter readings of industrial water to collection of water rates, response to sudden water leakage, etc. Now I realize the difficulties in operating the water supply infrastructure business and at the same time, I feel that this project is very rewarding because it has attracted attention from many other business entities to the point that it is being operated with the authorization of the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, we produce ideas that only a private company can come up with, and take on the challenge of various issues with a sense of speed that only a small organization can.
A decline in profits due to a decrease in population and the aging of water pipes are issues that face every municipality in the country. Toward the establishment of the “Osaka industrial water supply model” that realizes a sustainable industrial water supply, I will continue to make efforts to play a leading role in it.
Miura City Public Sewerage (for East Area Treatment District) Management Business
Japan's first “full-set” sewerage concession project including operation, maintenance, and reconstruction of all public sewerage facilities including a treatment plant, a pump station, and sewage pipelines
The “Miura City Public Sewer (for East Area Treatment District) Management Business” which is the fourth concession project in the sewerage sector in Japan was started in April 2023. For 20 years until March 2043, the Special-Purpose Company (SPC) “Miura Sewage Concession Co., Ltd.” in which Maeda Corporation is the largest shareholder will be engaged in the operation of sewerage works including maintenance, renewal, etc. of the sewage facilities in the east treatment district.
Direction that this project aims for
- ・In this project, we conduct business operations, aiming for “the realization of a sustainable sewerage system in Miura City” in order to pass on the safety of peoples' lives and rich water environment to the next generation.
- ・We aim for “the establishment of a new sewerage business model” to solve issues common to small-scale sewerage businesses in small and medium municipalities through the cooperation of the public and private sectors.
- ・We identified three important themes, “optimization of management,” “advancement of technology,” and “cooperation with local community” and aim for the solution of issues by developing measures according to these three important themes.
“Optimization of management”
Optimization of operation system
- ・For operations requiring specialized knowledge or an increase in the number of staff, the members provide full support. The SPC has a lean structure in normal times but realizes a secure operational management.
- ・In the event of a disaster or emergency, an integrated response system with members, local companies, etc. is established to support reconstruction activities.
“Advancement of technology”
[1] Operation and appropriate capital investment based on data
We establish a digital information infrastructure and aggregate various data as an integrated database, which is used for high-accuracy stock management planning including deterioration prediction, optimal operational management, and inspection and repair of facilities, pipelines, etc. In addition, accumulation of such data as well as maintenance data, expertise, etc. will lead to a passing down of skills and expertise of field engineers having a wealth of experience.
- ・We downsize major facilities such as air diffusers, air blowers, and dewaterers to the sizes matching the actual states and introduce highly efficient models, thereby pursuing a reduction of the life cycle cost and decarbonization.
- ・We install solar power generation facilities on the roof of the water treatment building and supply about 20% of electricity used at the purification center by renewable energy, contributing to the realization of the “Zero Carbon City - Miura” declaration.
[2] Sophistication of maintenance with introduction of optimal technologies
- ・With the newly-introduced remote monitoring system, we monitor the operation state for 24 hours a day 365 days a year, thereby realizing the stable operation of the facilities.
- ・We install measuring devices and control devices in the existing water treatment plant and automatically control the air blowing amount, thereby achieving a stable water quality and energy saving.
[3] Contribution to the technological development utilizing sewerage facilities
- ・We provide these facilities to universities, private companies, etc. so that they can be used as a “technology demonstration field” and prepare for the introduction of new technologies that adapt to future technological changes and are suitable for this project.
“Cooperation with local community”
[1] Promotion of local contribution
- ・We continue to cooperate with local companies in civil engineering and construction works, pipeline construction works, maintenance and management works, etc. that Miura City has ordered to local companies so far, aiming to improve technical capabilities together with local companies.
[2] Value creation by utilization of sewerage resources in local industry
- ・We use sewerage resources such as sewerage heat in agriculture. We will try growing crops in a greenhouse that will be built on the premises of the Tobu Purification Center.
- ・In the selection of crops to be grown and cultivated, we plan to cooperate with educational institutions, local farmers, etc.
[3] Information transmission and collaborative activities favored by local residents
- ・We participate in various events that are held in the city, such as the “Miura Citizens' Festival” and “Miura City Cherry Blossom Festival” and actively conduct PR for this project.
- ・We positively accept social studies field trips and work experience at sewerage facilities for elementary and junior high school students to enhance the familiarity with and attraction to Miura City Sewerage Business as a business.
| Ordering party |
Miura City |
|---|---|
| Operating right holder |
Miura Sewage Concession Co., Ltd. |
| Investing companies |
MAEDA CORPORATION, Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corporation, Kubota Corporation, NIHON SUIKO SEKKEI CO., LTD., WATER AGENCY INC. |
| Period | April 2023 to March 2043 (20 years) |
| Target facilities |
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| Business content |
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Voice of a person in charge
Junya Yoshida
We interviewed one of the people in charge of the Miura Sewage Concession Co., Ltd.
I am engaged in the concession business as supervisory manager and technical manager. Through maintenance and management works of the facilities such as the treatment plant, pump station, and pipelines, I accurately grasp the state and solve problems. I promote the smooth implementation of reports and proposals to the city, negotiation, and management of the entire business. An emergency response to a call from a resident reporting that “the drainage pipe is clogged and water is overflowing from the manhole” is sometimes required. In the planning support work, the soundness and importance of each facility is assessed, the priority of the facility that should be reconstructed is determined, and a reconstruction plan is prepared. The reconstruction and renewal works include design, estimation, ordering of works, contracting, inspection, etc. which we conduct on behalf of the municipality. Sewerage pipelines, relay pump stations, and sewerage treatment plants are important infrastructure for environmental conservation because they function as terminal treatment plants which return domestic waste water and industrial sewage to the sea. I realize that in our business activities, it is necessary to solve various issues that the administrative body faces, such as population decline, aging facilities, and labor shortage, through cooperation between the public and private sectors.
