The winners of the 2020 edition of the Hydro-Environment Asia-Pacific Division Heritage Awards were announced at the opening of the 22nd IAHR Asia-Pacific Division Congress ‘Creating Resilience to Water-related Challenges’ on 15 September 2020. 

These regional awards recognize a local infrastructure of lasting and international importance and seek to give international professional recognition to the work of local hydro-environment engineers. 

The following projects in Japan are the recipients of the 2020 awards:

Sayamaike Reservoir

This facility was created in the ancient period to provide irrigation water to the Osaka Plain through a channel network and a reservoir cascade system. Over the years, the facility, which is still in operation, has been repeatedly reinforced and enhanced to increase the reservoir capacity by expanding the irrigation area.

Tatsumi Aqueduct

This facility was constructed in the early modern period for a variety of purposes, including furnishing water for protection from fire, providing drinking water, moat-filling, and supplying water for agriculture using tunnel and inverted siphon technology. This structure is fully functional and in use today.

Flood control and water utilization facilities in the Ishikari River Basin

This complex was erected in the late modern period to transform cold region peatlands into rice cultivation areas. The construction of this facility, which is also still in use, led to the formation of a zone of vibrant economic activity.

Congratulations to the winners!

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