「ダムは必要悪だと思っていました」と、今本博健氏は告白する。 河川工学などを専門に、京大教授として約３０年。 定年退官し名誉教授となった２００１年、近畿を流れる淀川水系のダムの必要性を検証する委員会に加わったときも、「必要なダムはつくらせてくれ」と主張した。 だが個別のダムの功罪を吟味するうち考えを改めた。 今は「ダムの時代は終わる」と断言する。 （北海道新聞 ２０１０年１１月１４日朝刊）
‘I thought that dams were necessary evils”, he confesses.
Mr.Hirotake Imamoto served as a professor at the University of Kyoto for about thirty years, specializing mainly in river engineering.
Following his retirement in 2001, he became a professor emeritus and joined a committee whose mission was to verify the necessity of dams built across the Yodogawa riveｒ and its tributaries in Kinki district.
During all these years, Imamoto used to advocate “Let us build dams if they are needed.”
But then he altered his idea after examining merits and demerits of each dam already built.
Now he asserts “The era of Dams will be over”.