Abstract
A considerable number of studies have been made of institutional arrangements that can prevent excessive groundwater pumping based on Hardin’s seminal work, the “tragedy of the commons.” In contrast, this paper is concerned with groundwater quality control for which policy studies are very limited. This paper not only clarifies institutional challenges specific to groundwater contamination, but also demonstrates how government and industry could solve them using a case study of Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which has pioneered countermeasures for groundwater pollution in Japan. Hadano solved the challenges by enacting an innovative local ordinance with three pillars: Proxy purification by the city government, fundraising for purification activities and a retroactive system. Lessons learnt from the Hadano case will be very useful to policy makers because these problems already occur in other urban areas, or are likely to occur in the near future.
Highlights
Research into managing common-pool resources has gradually developed since Hardin’s seminal work on the “tragedy of the commons” [1]
Japanese Environment Agency conducted a national survey on groundwater pollution in 1982 after it learned of the case of serious groundwater pollution by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Silicon Valley in the State of California, USA
Creating a law that focused on the prevention of groundwater contamination and on the cleanup of pollution was the first step in addressing this shortcoming in the legal regulations
Summary
Research into managing common-pool resources has gradually developed since Hardin’s seminal work on the “tragedy of the commons” [1]. Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Japan, and the Orange County Water District in Southern California to clarify legal reasons for the diversity of groundwater management [5]. Vrba mentioned that excessive groundwater pumping might cause quality degradation through seawater intrusion and pointed out the necessity of legal regulations based on the polluter-pays principle He failed to consider cases where this principle is difficult to apply [15]. This paper uses a case study of Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan to show how government and industry could solve such challenges It will provide valuable information for policy-makers in many parts of the world, because the challenges are likely to occur in other areas of groundwater pollution.
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