William with an unusual version of Kumamoto springs: Where is the Water? Our city is known globally for its spring water -the largest in the world whose drinking supply is entirely artesian. The cause is the granite substratum created by Aso eruptions which keeps rainfall close to the surface, where it pops up willy-nilly.

But as the world is quickly noticing (particularly in my native California), fresh water is not unlimited.

Kumanichi reports on TSMC's, the Taiwan-based semiconductor manufacturer (a water-intense industry), new Kikuyo fab to draw 12,000 cubic meters of groundwater daily - about 2.7% of our groundwater supply. Given an average Olympic- sized swimming pool capacity of 2,500 cubic meters, about five pools.

Groundwater-recycling technology has advanced greatly, though. In my Californian hometown, most tap water used to be poop. JASM has proposed two methods to deal with the issue:

• an advanced water recovery and recycling system to recycle some 70% of its water;
• a flooding project to fill the farmland before and after planting for recharge.

Obviously, the opportunities that TSMC will bring to Kumamoto are great. We hope that the company and governments honestly deal with water issues - what has been proposed to date is quite vague.

Photo: the fab and its surrounding land.
https://kumanichi.com/articles/730090