2317-Anauchi River Dam

Date of interview: Friday, 10/11/2019

Originally, I came here to participate in a tour of the Anauchi River Dam, but I visited here as a location scout, or a rehearsal, or a preliminary inspection, or as a dam lover's intuition that I would not be able to act freely during the tour...I visited here to take a look at it beforehand.

View of the levee from downstream on the left bank

Driving downstream, you can see something shining white and glittering.

View of the levee from downstream on the left bank

Yes. It is a discharge of water from the dam. The Anauchi River Dam is equipped with two radial gates at the crest, and the water is being discharged from both gates!

Click here to see the video of the release at that time.

View of Crest Gate

It does not appear that the water is being released because it is full. The gate is completely open and a gap is visible.

According to a Shikoku Electric Power Company official who later told me directly, the dam was discharging water for inspection of the power plant, and it was really just a coincidence. Since the Anauchi River Dam rarely discharges water, it was quite valuable. A typhoon was approaching at the time, but they said it was not caused by the typhoon.

View of the sediment discharge hole

This hole is for a sediment discharge gate. They do not know if they have opened the gate in the past, but they know that if they do, it will clog with sediment, so they will not open it in the future. The concrete around the hole has been chipped away due to the discharge of water, which is amazing.

View of the tip of the flood discharge from the right bank

We have come to the right bank dam site. You can clearly see how the structure of the sediment discharge hole has been scraped away.

View of the levee downstream from the right bank

The Anauchi River Dam is a hollow gravity concrete dam, but the embankment is not curved, but rather has the shape of a straight line that bends in the middle.

There are only two hollow gravity concrete dams in Kochi, Shikoku. Considering that the Omorigawa Dam has a straight embankment, it reminds us that hollow gravity concrete dams come in many shapes.

View of the top edge from the right bank

The top end of the dike is quite compact because it is bent in the middle of the dike.

Oyabashira on the right bank of the dam lake side

This is the nameplate of the stately parent column. It is not a "dam" but aweirI also like the fact that it says "I love it.

Parent pillar on the downstream side of the right bank

A nameplate is inlaid to prove that the building was constructed by Kajima Corporation.

View of the levee downstream from the right bank

You can see the entrance to the audit corridor on the left of the photo.

administration office

It was supposed to be unmanned, but the lights were on inside the control center. Perhaps they were doing some kind of work.

View of the water intake tower

I see a door body, is it a spare gate? Or is it the main body?

View of the embankment on the lake side from the right bank

Due to the high water level, the octopus legs characteristic of hollow gravity concrete dams are not visible at all.

View of the dam lake from the top

There is a village upstream, but there are few cars passing by and it is a quiet dammed lake.

View downstream from the top

The downstream face of the dike is bent at the bottom of the dike so that it cannot be seen directly below.

Gate peer

The bees were flying around and it turned out to be a pretty shabby picture.

View downstream from the crest gate

It is a flood discharge that seems to suck you in. It drops down at once and leads to a jump platform. The crest of the Anauchi River Dam is a radial gate, but one of its features is that it is the only single arm in Japan.

View of the top edge from the left bank

The style is the same on the right bank, but with stairs leading down to the top edge. The fence on the left leads to the entrance of the auditorium.

Oyabashira (left bank dam lake side)

The nameplate was fitted in the same way as on the right bank. Still, the graffiti is terrible...

Parent pillar on the downstream side of the left bank

The downstream side is fitted with a nameplate that also indicates that it was constructed by Kajima Corporation. The white part was painted so heavily that the concrete part could be erased, but the nameplate could not...

Plaza on the left bank

The left bank is much wider than the right bank, and a cenotaph and information signs about the Anauchi River Dam have been installed.

View of the embankment on the dam lake side from the plaza

It is regrettable that you cannot see the octopus legs characteristic of a hollow gravity concrete dam, but it is also nice that you can see the other side through the open gate. If you look closely, you can see some driftwood.

View of the embankment on the lake side of the dam including the abutment from the left bank

The abutment on the left bank is reinforced by a concrete structure on the column. There are no supporting walls, so it is neat and clean.

View of the levee downstream from the left bank

The downstream abutment also has a structure without a dependency wall. I should have taken a better picture. I was struggling with wasps (or rather, running away from them), so I didn't have much time for that, but anyway, for the first time in my life, I heard the "click" of a threat.

View of the levee downstream from the left bank

The water stored at the Anauchi River Dam can produce a total of 66,200 kW of electricity at the Anauchi River Power Station, Hirayama Power Station, and Shinkai Power Station.

There are only 13 in Japan, and only 2 in Shikoku, Kochi.Hollow Gravity Concrete DamIt was great to see the unique shape of the gate, the very rare single arm radial gate that can only be seen here, and the precious discharge.

By the way, I happened to pass by Mr. Hagiwara as I was walking down the road after leaving the Anauchi River Dam! (I recommend you to watch his video as well. (Or rather, I recommend Mr. Hagiwara's video because it is more accurate.)

bonus

After the Anauchi River Dam, I visited the Resting Place Dam, and then I had time to visit Katsurahama for the first time. Katsurahama beach is very rough by typhoon. The beach was off-limits, but I think it is also precious.

Anauchi River Dam Specifications

Other facilities/observations

Map around Anauchi River Dam

Accommodations that may be close to Anauchi River Dam