Minumadai Canal facilities have been operated and maintained ceaselessly since its construction. However, amid the high-growth period of the 1960s in Japan, water demand in Saitama Prefecture increased rapidly. In addition, the canal facilities had been deteriorated and also the purpose of utilization of water had changed due to the urbanization in this region. For these reasons, Water Resources Development Public Corporation (the predecessor of JWA) conducted a renovation project called "Saitama Goguchi Stage ll Project". As a result of the implementation of this project, stable supply of agricultural water became possible through renovation of the canal system and it also became possible to use the surplus water, which resulted from a reduction of the seepage loss from the canal through replacement of the earth canal with a concrete canal and the rationalization of water management, as tap water to be supplied to both Saitama Prefecture and the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. This renovation project was conducted from 1978 till 1994, and now JWA supplies irrigation water to approximately 11,343 ha of farmland in Saitama Prefecture, and tap water to approximately 1 million people in Saitama Prefecture and the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. In addition, environmental improvement projects along the canal have been actively carried out by neighboring municipalities, and water parks and promenades have been developed. As part of these projects, cherry trees have also been planted.

As mentioned above, one of the functions of Minumadai Canal is the supply of irrigation water. In Japan, the irrigation period and preparations for rice farming begin in spring. At first glance, irrigation and cherry blossoms seemingly do not have any relation, but actually they are surprisingly related. It is said that once there was a custom in Japan to consider the blooming situation of cherry blossoms in early spring as criteria to judge the timings of the start of rice farming (soil paddling and seeding etc.) and irrigation. This is, so to speak, a today's crop calendar. Even today, there are communities where local residents have been protecting cherry trees known as "Taue-sakura (rice planting cherry blossom)" or "Tanemaki-sakura (seeding cherry blossom)" for hundreds of years. A cherry blossom is the special flower which has been deeply rooted in the culture and the life, including agriculture, of Japanese people for a long time.