A bridge over the Kinokawa river containing pipes for the Wakayama city water supply collapses on Oct. 3, cutting off water supply to residents of the northern part of the city. (Provided by Wakayama city government)

Photo/Illutration A family in Wakayama city rejoices as water is restored on the morning of Oct. 9. (Tatsuya Shimoji)

WAKAYAMA--For the first time in six days, more than 100,000 residents here could turn their faucets on to get tap water and flush their toilets without using buckets of water.

The water supply to the northern part of the city had been cut off because a bridge that held the pipes supplying water to the area there had collapsed.

A temporary alternate pipe was installed on a different bridge used as a road in an emergency measure through around-the-clock work.

While the water supply was restored from about 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 9 to about 138,000 residents, city officials urged them not to drink the water for the time being because the liquid was turbid.

Still, local residents who had been without tap water for six days were thrilled that they could at least use the toilet without having to worry about filling up the tank.

(This article was written by Moeno Kunikata, Tatsuya Shimoji and Tsuyoshi Shimoji.)

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