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  Canal Construction》Construction Process

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▌Due to financial straits, the canal construction was listed as a public reservoir/canal project

The expenditure for the canal construction was estimated at 42,000,000Yen. To The Office of the Taiwan Governor General, this money put it in financial straits. To solve the problem, the construction of the canal was listed as a public reservoir/canal project rather than a government reservoir/canal project. In other words, this infrastructure was the people’s project. The government merely assisted in it. This way, the parties of the irrigation assembly including the proprietors, landowners, and tenants had no reason not to contribute money to help build it. The Office of the Taiwan Governor General was therefore spared from shouldering this large sum of money alone.

However, there was one problem to overcome during the process. Since the canal was considered a public reservoir/canal, the government could not intervene with its management. Instead, it was a private corporate group that took up the responsibility. It means that the government merely played the role of a “supervisor”. It had no jurisdiction over or the power to appoint staff. Nevertheless, the political situations at the time were in favor of the government. The Office of the Taiwan Governor General had little doubt over its influence and power. Therefore, it listed the canal as a public reservoir/canal project. To the government, this decision was advantageous.
　
In August, 1919, the Public Reservoir/Canal Project and the Guantian River Reservoir/Canal Project were combined. Ostensibly, it was not a government agency, so, Hachitayoichi resigned his job post as a technician under The Office of the Taiwan Governor General. The Public Reservoir/Canal Project and Guantian River/Canal Assembly then hired him again as technician. In April, 1921, the assembly was renamed “Public Reservoir/Canal Chia-Nan Canal Assembly.
　

Sand and gravel transported to Danei Township by train Enlarge	Earthwork compaction using a machine Enlarge

▌Funds were partially subsidized by the government and mostly shouldered by the People

The budget for the Chia-Nan Canal was as high as 42,000,000 Yen but The Office of the Taiwan Governor General only subsidized 12,000,000 of it. The reset of the 30,000,000 was shouldered by parties of the irrigation assembly including reservoir/canal proprietors, landowners, and tenants. This meant that the parties had to shoulder 70% of the total engineering fees. Later on, the canal engineering was severely affected by the Great Kanto Earthquake in Japan, economic recession, and land tax levy etc. The construction was delayed for 4 years at an added cost of 13,000,000 Yen. Finally, the engineering fees accumulated to over 54,000,000 Yen. The National treasury of Japan agreed to pay for half of the expenses. The other half was shared by the parties of the irrigation assembly.

Wushantou Reservoir Spillway in Operation Enlarge	Present Wushantou Reservoir Spillway Enlarge

▌10 Years of Hardships

The Chia-Nan Canal Engineering broke ground on September 1st; 1920.Teh engineering covered the famous Wushantou Reservoir Engineering, Wushanling Tunnel, Jhuoshuei River Water inlet, Zenwun River Water inlet, irrigation canal, drainage canal, anti-flood and anti-dampness equipments. Hachitayoichi speculated that the engineering project would take 6 years to complete. However, due to many factors, it was completed in May, 1930. Upon completion, the effective water storage capacity of Wushantou Reservoir reached 150,000,000 cubic meters, the irrigation canal extended 1410km, and the drainage canal extended 960km. As for privately setup small irrigation canals extended about 7,400kms and small drainage canals extended, 6000km. They were extended to all parts of Chia-Nan Plain.
　
Among all engineering projects, the Wushantou Reservoir engineering project was the largest. It was constructed using an advanced technique at the time called Semi Hydraulic Fill. Since this technique had not been in use in Japan, Hachitayoichi, a young man at the time, queried its usability. To find out about it, he went to the U.S.A. to observe and study. He also had a serious argument with Dr. Justin, an expert of Semi Hydraulic Fill who was invited to Taiwan. Later on, The Office of the Taiwan Governor General settled for Hachitayoichi’s plan but also took Dr. Justin’s advice and made some changes.

First Wushantou Reservoir water drainage after the water room was completed
　

Other than Wushantou Reservoir, the Wushanling Tunnel Engineering Project was considered the most difficult. The purpose of open the tunnel was to pilot water from Zenwun River to the reservoir and replenish water supply. Open a tunnel in the mountains sounded extremely difficult. To make things worse, not long after digging began, an oil gas pipe caused a major explosion and resulted to 50 deaths. The design had to be changed repeatedly. The short 3-km tunnel took almost 6 years to complete.

Reservoir drain outlet engineering Enlarge	A sacrifice offered to the Buddhist  Gods upon reservoir completion Enlarge

▌The Largest Irrigation System in the Fareast

Originally, Hachitayoichi’s speculation for the irrigation area of Chia-Nan Canal was 150,000 kah. However, an investigation conducted a year after the canal irrigation showed that the actual irrigation area was only 136,000 kah. This figure fell over 10,000 kah short in area. Although the irrigation area fell short as compared to the original plan, Chia-Nan Canal is still the largest irrigation facility in Taiwan. At the time, the irrigation area of the irrigation assembly of Taichung Zhou was slightly over 80,000 kah, and the irrigation area of the irrigation assembly of Taipei Zhou was less than 40,000 kah. The irrigation assembly of Chia-Nan Canal was double the irrigation size of the two Taichung Zhou and Taipei Zhou combined. It is no wonder that Chia-Nan Canal was considered a wise investment.

   ▍Hsin Chia Elementary School ˙Houbi Township, Tainan County , Taiwan (R.O.C.)˙2008˙1024*768