Dam in Shiga Prefecture

1355-Serikawa Dam

3.5
1355-Serikawa Dam Dam in Shiga Prefecture
This article can be read in about 7 minutes to read.

Date of coverage: 2021/10/9 (Sat) & 10/31 (Sun)

The Serikawa Dam has been undergoing seismic reinforcement and equipment repair work for several years as part of the "2022 Great Repair" project. Personally, I had not visited the Serikawa Dam in the Koto area of Shiga Prefecture, but since the construction of the main body of the embankment seemed to have been recently completed, I decided to take this opportunity to visit the dam.

Serikawa Dam is located in the Ichien area of Taga Town, Shiga Prefecture, and is sometimes called "Ichien Dam" by the locals.

Incidentally, we went to Serikawa Dam for the first time via Kuramake Pass on Route 306. I had an image of Kurakake Pass being closed due to snow accumulation in winter and landslides in rainy season, so I had avoided the pass.

In the parking lot

As soon as I arrived, a person who seemed to be the site supervisor of the JV talked to me, probably because he saw the "dam tour" and "discharge caution" stickers on my car and realized that I was a dam enthusiast. Unfortunately, however, he told me that I could not approach the embankment.

In the parking lot
In the parking lot

View of the downstream face of the levee from a field of rape blossoms downstream

I had no choice but to take a light walk around the area and move to a place where I could see the embankment and take pictures. It is an earth dam, but there is not much impression of soil or grass at all.

View of the downstream face of the levee from the field of flowers of the name downstream
View of the downstream face of the levee from the field of flowers of the name downstream

Looking downstream from the left bank

Three weeks later, I visited the Serikawa Dam again. I received information from a follower on Twitter that the dam was about to reach its full capacity during the test flooding, and that there was a possibility of overflowing the overflowing water from the overflowing water discharge. We received special permission to enter the site.

Looking downstream from the left bank
Looking downstream from the left bank

View of the conduit from the bridge downstream

Basically, it seems that only the embankment was to be repaired, and the spillway and conduit sections were not to be repaired. As you can see, the conduit section remained old. This may be a good thing, as it has a certain flavor.

View of the conduit from the bridge downstream
View of the conduit from the bridge downstream

Bridge downstream of the residual water discharge

This bridge is also quite old and tasteful.

Bridge downstream of the residual water discharge
Bridge downstream of the residual water discharge

Incidentally, Serikawa of Serikawa Dam is the name of a river, but the main Serikawa River does not flow into the reservoir. In fact, water taken from an intake weir on the main Serikawa River flows into the Serikawa Dam reservoir through a channel (Serikawa Shouzujiro).

It is difficult to understand in writing, so I will quote from the outline chart found on the Shiga Prefecture website.

Serikawa Shousuijiro District Outline Map
Serigawa Shouguro District outline map (taken from the Shiga Prefecture website)

According to information provided by a follower, the Serigawa Dam and the Shougou Canal were planned by Unosuke Tsuchida (1867-1939), who contributed to the development of agriculture in the Taga region before the war, but he died without seeing the completion of the project.

View of the top edge from the left bank

Unfortunately, the top edge could not yet be entered on this day, but it had already been paved and the high railings installed.

View of the top edge from the left bank
View of the top edge from the left bank

Looking upstream from the left bank

The upstream face of the embankment is concrete frame work + filling work, which is the mainstream in recent earth dams. It looks beautiful.

Looking upstream from the left bank
Looking upstream from the left bank

View of the upstream face of the embankment from slightly upstream on the left bank

The lake water is generally clean, although there is some driftwood and wood chips floating in the water due to the rain. The reflection of the green of the mountains and the blue of the sky on the surface of the lake was very impressive.

View of the upstream face of the embankment from slightly upstream on the left bank
View of the upstream face of the embankment from slightly upstream on the left bank

Bridge over spillway

The bridge over the spillway was originally constructed with trusses, although it was updated in conjunction with the levee renovation.

Bridge over spillway
Bridge over spillway

View of the conduit from the bridge above the spillway

As of the morning, it had not yet overflowed.

View of the conduit from the bridge above the spillway
View of the conduit from the bridge above the spillway

View of the spillway from the left bank

The water is stored up to the very edge of the overflow bank, but it looks like it will overflow in a few more minutes.

View of the spillway from the left bank
View of the spillway from the left bank

See inflow construction

We came to see the inflow upstream to see if the water would still overflow for the time being. The water was flowing in a zabazaba.

See inflow construction
See inflow construction

View of the downstream face of the dike

Returning from the inflow construction, we admired the downstream face of the embankment. The newly completed embankment has no grass yet, so it has a completely different atmosphere from the earth dam.

View of the downstream face of the dike
View of the downstream face of the dike

Looking upstream from the left bank

Incidentally, the sheet stretched over the slope of the embankment is not a weed prevention sheet but a vegetation sheet.

Looking upstream from the left bank
Looking upstream from the left bank

Vegetation Sheet

The seeds will be planted in this sheet to green up the area. It will surely turn a beautiful earth dam-like green color in time.

Vegetation Sheet
Vegetation Sheet

Residual water discharge at about 11:30 a.m.

It has been more than two hours since we arrived, but the situation does not seem to have changed much... Moreover, there is a crack in the lower part of the overflow bank, and it looks as if water is leaking from there.

Residual water discharge at about 11:30 a.m.
Residual water discharge at about 11:30 a.m.

View of the embankment from just below the downstream face

We had no choice but to eat lunch to kill some time, and then went back to the bank. This time, we approached from just below the downstream face.

View of the embankment from just below the downstream face
View of the embankment from just below the downstream face

Culvert portal from water intake facility

There is a water intake facility on the right bank, and the water taken there flows through here. A "gurgling" sound can be heard in the back. There was a nameplate on the top, but unfortunately it has been removed.

Culvert portal from water intake facility
Culvert portal from water intake facility

Residual water discharge around 1:00 p.m.

It looks like the water level has risen just a little bit...

Residual water discharge around 1:00 p.m.
Residual water discharge around 1:00 p.m.

Residual water discharge up

Hmmm...I still think there is a crack at the bottom of the overflow dike and the inflow is leaking from there.

Residual water discharge up
Residual water discharge up

View of the reservoir from the bridge above the spillway

If you look at the reservoir, you can see many waterfowl resting their wings and a submerged forest, which is beautiful and lovely.

View of the reservoir from the bridge above the spillway
View of the reservoir from the bridge above the spillway

View of the upstream face of the levee from the upstream walking trail

Since the reservoir was not overflowing, we decided to walk around the reservoir to the right bank. So we decided to walk around the reservoir to the right bank. The photo shows the upstream side of the dike. There are some trees in the way.

View of the upstream face of the levee from the upstream walking trail
View of the upstream face of the levee from the upstream walking trail

Branch of walking trail

ところどころ足場が悪く靴が汚れてしまうほどでした。結構歩いたのですがそれでも半分も行かなくて結局途中であきらめて引き返しました💦

Branch of walking trail
Branch of walking trail

View of the residual water discharge at about 2:30 p.m.

The sun has gone down and about half of the excess water discharge is now in shadow. And not much seems to have changed in the situation...

View of the residual water discharge at about 2:30 p.m.
View of the residual water discharge at about 2:30 p.m.

Close-up of residual water discharge

I don't think so...

Close-up of residual water discharge
Close-up of residual water discharge

Is it still crack?

We are really close! I'm almost there, but there is still so much water seeping out of the cracks that it doesn't look like it is going to overflow. If the wind blows..." or "Someone come into the reservoir! I think it is only in the test waterlogging that we joke with other enthusiasts like "If the wind blows..." or "Someone should come into the reservoir! If the wind blows..." or "Someone come into the reservoir!

Is it still crack?
Is it still crack?

feeling of half-hearted resignation

The mood among the assembled dam enthusiasts was one of resignation. Since it was the voting day for the House of Representatives election, I had no choice but to leave at daylight because I had not yet cast my ballot before the election.

feeling of half-hearted resignation
feeling of half-hearted resignation

The improvement district seemed to be aware of the cracks, but since the excess water discharge is rarely used, only the embankment was repaired. The amount of water leaking from the cracks was not known, but depending on the results of the test flooding, it may be repaired.

The downstream side of the reservoir is gradually being developed and will be open for free tours, so why not visit it in combination with this clean and pleasant reservoir?

Last but not least, to all the land improvement districts in the Ichien area, and to a certain follower who acted as an intermediary, thank you very much for your help this time!

Serikawa Dam Specifications

The name of the river is not actually Serikawa, but for convenience it has been adapted from the dam handbook. It is possible that some of the specifications may have changed due to the renovation, but we have left them as they are. (I have heard that the height of the embankment has not been changed.)

LocationAll around Taga Town, Inukami-gun, Shiga Prefecture
River NameSerikawa, Yodo River system
ObjectiveA (irrigation water)
ModelE(earth dam)
Bank height27m
Bank length135m
Dam volume158,000 m3
Watershed Area38.7 km2 (direct: 1.2 km2, indirect: 38 km2)
Reservoir area14 ha
Total storage capacity1,781,000 m3
Effective water storage capacity1,751,000 m3
Dam operatorShiga prefecture (Kinki area)
Main body constructorDirectly managed by dam operator
Year of launch-
Year Completed1955 (old levee)
Name of Dam Lake-

Other facilities/observations

Park in the "Wild Bird Forest" parking lot downstream and walk to the site. Restrooms are also located adjacent to that parking lot.

Parking lot
Toilet
Parkperiod
PR Exhibition Hall×
Fishing?

Map around Serikawa Dam

Weather around Serikawa Dam

Accommodations that may be close to Serikawa Dam

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This article was written by.
Shin Jinma

Dam enthusiast who loves Momosuke Fukuzawa / Dampedia and Dam News administrator / Certified Dammeister (01-018) by the Japan Dam Foundation / Started selling discharge caution goods.https://shop.dampedia.com

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