The is a multi-purpose

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

on the main stream

Sagami River The is a river in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa and Yamanashi Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefectures on the island of Honshū, Japan. The upper reaches of the river in Yamanashi prefecture are also sometimes known as the , and the portion near the ...

Sagamihara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 723,470, with 334,812 households, and a population density of 1,220 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Sagamihara is the third-most-populous city ...

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

on the island of

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

History

The potential of the Sagami River valley for

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

development began to be developed in the 1930s, with the growth of industry and electrical consumption in the

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

industrial belt. Work on the

Sagami Dam The is a multi-purpose dam on the main stream Sagami River in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture on the island of Honshū, Japan. History The potential of the Sagami River valley for hydroelectric power development began to be ...

, the first dam on the main stream of the Sagami River began in 1938; however, lack of funding and the advent of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

delayed completion until after the end of the war. Work on the Shiroyama Dam, in the former town of Tsukui, Tsukui District commenced in 1960 and was completed in 1965 by the

Kumagai Gumi is a Japanese construction company founded in Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The company still has registered headquarters in Fukui, but the actual head office is located in Shinjuku, Tokyo. History Santaro Kumagai, the company's founder, beg ...

construction company.

Design

The Shiroyama Dam is a hollow-core

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

gravity dam A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold back water by using only the weight of the material and its resistance against the foundation to oppose the horizontal pressure of water pushing against it. ...

. It was designed to provide

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

, and industrial and drinking water to the cities of Yokohama, Kawasaki,

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

and the

Shōnan is the name of a region along the coast of Sagami Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture, central Japan. Centered on Sagami River, about 60 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, the Shōnan region stretches from Ninomiya in the west to Fujisawa in the east, i ...

area. It also serves as a Pumped-storage hydroelectricity facility in conjunction with the Honzawa Dam further upstream. The associated Shiroyama Hydroelectric Power Plant has a rated capacity of 250,000 kW of power, and the Tsukui Hydroelectric Power Plant has an additional capacity of 25,000 kW. The reversible turbine generators at the Shiroyama Power Plant were designed to function as either electrical power generators, or as pumps, to reverse the flow of water back into the reservoir of the Honzawa Dam in times of low demand. created by the dam is a major leisure destination in Kanagawa Prefecture, popular with boaters, fishers and campers.

Surroundings

Public access to the Shiroyama Dam and to Lake Tsukui are by Japan National Route 413, which actually runs across the top of the dam itself. Tsukuiko Shiroyama park is located near the dam.

References

*Japan Commission on Large Dams. ''Dams in Japan:Past, Present and Future''. CRC Press (2009). *Takeuchi, Kuniyoshi. ''Sustainable Reservoir Development and Management''. IAHS Press (November 1998).

External links

photo page
{{Authority control Gravity dams Dams in Kanagawa Prefecture Hydroelectric power stations in Japan Dams completed in 1965 1965 establishments in Japan