----------------------------------- sanji Sun May 03, 2009 10:16 am G-Cans project (Saitama-ken) [E] ----------------------------------- Name : The Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel (首都圏外郭放水路) Prefecture : Saitama-ken (埼玉県) Address : 720 Kamikanasaki, Kasukabe city, Saitama 344-0111 (〒344-0111 埼玉県春日部市上金崎720) Phone : 048-747-0281 (Mon - Fri 9:00-16:30) Tours : Every Tuesday to Friday - Morning tour 10:00 - 11:30 & Afternoon tour 14:30 - 16:00 (maximum 20 participants per tour) Access : From Minami Sakurai station (南桜井駅) in Kasukabe, on the Tōbu Noda Line - Internet : http://www.ktr.mlit.go.jp/edogawa/project/g-cans/english/index.html The Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel (also called The G-Cans project, in Japanese 首都圏外郭放水路 Shutoken Gaikaku Housui Ro), is a huge underground infrastructure located mostly in Saitama-ken, which was built for preventing flooding of the capital during rainy and typhoon seasons. http://www.ktr.mlit.go.jp/edogawa/project/g-cans/outline/img/main1_3c.jpg The project was initiated in 1992. It consists of 5 concrete containment silos with a height of 65 meters and a diameter of 32 meters, located close to 4 major rivers and connected by 6.4 km of tunnels. Should there be too much water in those rivers, those silos can absorb a huge amount of water from the rivers. Those silos are connected by pipes 50 meters beneath the surface, together with a large water tank called "The Cathedral", with a height of 25.4 meters, a length of 177 meters (!), and a width of 78 meters. Should this place, too, be filled, 10 MW pumps can pump up to 200 tons of water per second (!) into the Edogawa River, located at a lower altitude. See the picture above for more information... Or 127212701271 1269 127312741275 For more information and online reservation : [url=http://www.ktr.mlit.go.jp/edogawa/works/saigai/sonae/gaikaku/g-cans/english/index.html]Details of the tour (in English).