Quake-Hit Yatsushiro Residents Worried about Well Water Issues

Yatsushiro, a city in Kumamoto Prefecture, faces challenges with well water following a powerful earthquake in July. While water outages have been addressed, many wells are running dry or producing murky water. The quake, with a seismic intensity of up to 6 on Japan's shindo scale, has caused significant damage to wells. The prefectural government, working with the central authorities, has set up a well water response team to restore the wells.

However, residents are uncertain about the duration of the issue. With a public water supply coverage rate of just 52.1%, nearly half of the households in Yatsushiro rely on wells for their daily water needs. The prefecture has confirmed damage to wells in around 4,500 households and received reports of problems in about 3,500 cases.

As of September 15, the response team had conducted 1,374 on-site inspections. Cleaning efforts have improved only 61 wells out of those inspected. Some residents have reported that their wells now produce water that looks like a mixture of sand and sludge, forcing them to use public facilities. The prefectural government has announced that well restoration will be covered under the disaster relief law, with assistance up to ¥757,000 ($4,800) per household.

However, redrilling a well, especially shared by a few households, can cost several million yen. Contractors from across Japan are assisting, but the demand is overwhelming, and the prefecture is struggling to keep up with the need for workers.