NGO's “come back ayufish” campaign and preservation of drinking water sources in Murasaki River, Kitakyushu city, Japan

Good quality raw material gives a good quality product. This is a fundamental rule of production not only for commodities but also for our drinking water. The citizens of Kitakyushu city have been aware of this rule and started the campaign to preserve the drinking water source, and its surrounding natural environment. The catchphrase for the campaign is “Come back Ayufish to the river”. For Japanese people, ayufish is one of the most suitable indicators of clean water or clean river. More than a thousand citizens take part in this campaign every year. A group of environmental chemists have supported this campaign by sharing the long-term monitoring data for 40 years with the NGO and also the relationship between physiological impact of water quality such as BOD and MBAS on the behavior of ayufish to return to the river is discussed.