The Water Quality Preservation Measures in Lake Biwa, the Largest Lake in Japan,
Abstract
The national government's Basic Law for Environmental Pollution Control provides for desirable environmental quality standards to be maintained to protect the health and living environment of the citizens against air pollution, water contamination, and other environmental disruptions. For the purposes of this law, several area types are provided for application to individual water areas covered. As for Lake Biwa and the Seta River, specific environmental quality standards were made public by the 1972 notification of the Environment Agency, which applied the area types AA(a) and AA(c) to the northern basin and the southern basin, respectively, and the area type A(a) to the Seta River. (For drinking water, AA represents the top rating and A the second rating). In order to help promote the attainment of these standards, a study has been under way since fiscal year 1972 at nine fixed monitoring points specifically designated for this purpose (four in the northern basin, another four in the southern basin, and one in the Seta River). Results of the study on standards for protection the health of the citizens (comprised of nine items relative to toxic substances) were met at each monitoring point. With regard to the conditions of the living environment, it was found that the AA standards on DO (dissolved oxygen) were almost met at each monitoring point, while the standards on COD (chemical oxygen demand) were yet to be attained (Figure 2).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADP002413
Entities
People
- M. Shirahase