Omaru Irrigation Canal

Omaru Irrigation Canal and Omaru Irrigation Canal Land Improvement District

What is the Omaru Irrigation Canal?

The Omaru Irrigation Canal, an agricultural waterway, draws water from the Tama River at the Omaru intake and supplies water to orchards and rice fields up to Tama Ward in Kawasaki City. The total length, including 9 main streams and about 200 tributaries, extends to 70 km.
The excavation period of the Omaru Irrigation Canal is believed to be the early Edo period. As part of the Edo Shogunate's large-scale flood control and water utilization policies, it was excavated as agricultural irrigation water along with other irrigation canals in the Tama River basin. The intricately branched waterways have been ingeniously designed with features such as three-dimensional crossings, allowing water to be supplied to farmlands up to the present day.
Even now, it mainly supplies water to agricultural land, and has also been developed as a waterside park, serving as a valuable waterfront space for citizens to relax.

What is the Omaru Irrigation Canal Land Improvement District?

The Omaru Irrigation Canal Land Improvement District is an agricultural organization that utilizes the Omaru Irrigation Canal, consisting of farmers from Omaru, Oshitachi, Higashi-Naganuma, and Yanokuchi in Inagi City, as well as from the Sugashiroshita, Suga, Sugatoro, Suga Inadazutsumi, and Suga Baba districts in Kawasaki City.
The Omaru Irrigation Canal Land Improvement District primarily maintains and manages the Omaru Irrigation Canal headworks weir, which is the entrance to the Omaru Irrigation Canal, and adjusts the water volume to ensure stable water supply to farmland during the irrigation period (May to September). Additionally, members lead the local community in conducting dredging of the waterways several times a year.
In recent years, due to rapid urbanization and the aging of agricultural workers, the number of union members has been declining; however, to maintain the function of the Omaru Irrigation Canal as a historic agricultural waterway continuing since the Edo period, efforts are being made in cooperation with related organizations to manage and maintain it.