Japanese Super Sewer

Our friends in Tokyo Japan have constructed a colossal piece of underground infrastructure. Called G-Cans, its purpose is to drain and contain excess water during storms and typhoons. The project began in 1992 and took 12 years to complete. It consists of five concrete containment silos with a height of 65 meters and a diameter of 32 meters, each large enough to contain full scale ready to launch space shuttle. They are connected by 6.4 kilometers of tunnels 50 meters beneath the surface. The heart of the operation is a water tank 177 meters long, 78 meters wide and over 25 meter high. The structure is supported by 59 monolithic pillars. To pump the water out of G-Cans, a cluster of 14,000 horse power turbines can pump water into the nearby Edogawa river, at a rate of over 17 million tons per day.

In addition to the sheer scale of engineering involved with G-Cans, the structure itself is breathtaking. The long voluminous tunnels and towering pillars give the place a strangely majestic feel. It looks like a Hollywood set, or some computer generated level for a next generation video game. So much so that G-Cans has become a tourist attraction, offering free tours to visitors. Have a look at some remarkable images from the official G-Cans site. (unfortunately available only in Japanese) And some additional images from JPDN. Becuase of the unique atmosphere, G-Cans has been the home to several TV and film shoots. Including this Range Rover commercial.

G-Cans is quite an accomplishment. I am forced to wonder if something of this magnitude could be constructed beneath coastal US cities that face flooding dangers. Such as the recently ravaged New Orleans. I understand that the majority of NOLA is below sea level, which would present some interesting engineering challenges. But I can't help but think that we can learn from our typhoon weary neighbors. Anyone with a civil engineering degree care to comment?



“Architecture begins where engineering ends.” - Walter Gropius