Sumida, Tokyo southeast; Taitō to the west; Chūō to the southwest; and Kōtō to the south. The ward was founded on March 15, 1947. It was previously the (ordinary) wards Honjo and Mukojima. Mukojima, formed in 1932, contained the former town of Sumida, which along with the river gave the ward its name. As of 2005, the mayor is Noboru Yamazaki. The council consists of 34 members. Public elementary and middle schools are operated by Sumida. Public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education. In addition, the metropolitan school district also operates a metropolitan junior high school:
Arakawa River (Fukushima) ineffective, and the river continued to periodically flood, culminating in a large-scale flood on August 5th, 1986. In 2004 the Arakawa River's flood control system was completely overhauled, and 13 new check dams were built along the main river and numerous other dams built on its tributaries. In 2008 the Agency for Cultural Affairs designated the Arakawa First Check Dam as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property. In 2007 the Arakawa River tied with six other rivers for having the best quality river water in country based on biochemical oxygen demand tests conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and