The Yodogawa River system is one of the largest river systems in Japan, with a basin area of 8,240K�u and a total main channel of 75.1 km. It includes many large cities such as Kyoto and Osaka, and covers 29 % of six prefectures: Mie, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo and Nara. Originating from Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, the Ujigawa River becomes the Yodogawa River after joining the Kizugawa River from Mie and Nara, and Katsuragawa River from Kyoto, at the southwestern edge of the Kyoto Basin, and then discharges into the Osaka Bay. The Yodogawa River system also includes the Inagawa River tributary from Hyogo.

Each river has different meteorological characteristics: snow-melting floods in Lake Biwa, typhoon floods in Kizugawa River, and rainy season floods in Katsuragawa River. However, thanks to the capacity of Lake Biwa, the flow in middle and lower areas is comparatively stable.

The Yodogawa River Basin has many traditional water resources development projects for flood prevention and water use since ancient times. It is also called Lake Biwa and Yodogawa River Basin.

Catchment area	8,240k�u
Urbanized rate	19%
Length of main channel	75.1km
Average rainfall	1,786mm
Total discharge	8.5 billionm3
Population	12,480 thousand

JWA Kansai/Shikoku Yodogawa Branch manages 11 projects including Takayama Dam, Hitokura Dam and Biwako Lake Development for water demand in Yodogawa River Basin.

Thanks to the cooperation by everybody concerned, we completed the construction of main body and began the test storage to check the dam safety at Kawakami Dam project last year toward its completion in 2022FY.

For cancelled Niu Dam project, we are cooperating with related stakeholders and conducting the aftermath with respect to the site area.

Recently, extreme flooding occurs almost every year and urges us to practice the “River Basin Disaster Resilience and Sustainability by All”. We are aggressively keeping the more efficient effective facility operation and improving the facilities, as well as facilitating the preliminary discharge for more flood control capacity with understanding and cooperation by water users. We also continue appropriate operation and maintenance based on our experience for stable water supply even under the recent severe weather condition.

JWA will be promoting the digital transformation (DX) at our business and contributing to carbon neutral eagerly. Through these efforts and our accumulated rich experience, we are aiming at further development and safer society in Kinki region.

• *jump to the JWA HQ page (Kansai Area)

• Today's conditions of the dams and Lake Biwa