11.2.1.3 Groundwater control management

Water ' stress' can vary greatly per region. Where some regions are hampered by drought, others suffer from a surplus of groundwater. Corporate extraction of groundwater affects the groundwater level. However, sometimes a company's decision not to extract water also impacts groundwater levels. In the Netherlands, due to land drainage, water management also involves controlling the surplus of groundwater. Interestingly in this light, there is a legal case concerning the responsibility of a Dutch multinational chemical company, DSM, to resume pumping groundwater. Because of new technologies, the company did not need to use its licence to extract groundwater anymore and had communicated its intention to stop the process to the local authorities. In response, the Province of Zuid-Holland ordered DSM to continue pumping groundwater to avoid flooding in the region. The Province invoked the company's social responsibility in this respect and the fact that permission for pumping had been granted to the company for more than 90 years. The company challenged the order. In June 2007, the Civil Court held that the legal permission to pump water does not imply a legal obligation to pump, but that DSM could be held liable for any damages caused by stopping the pumping. The Court added that groundwater control is primarily the responsibility of government. The authorities appealed the verdict. Meanwhile DSM was still obliged to continue pumping groundwater at its own expense (DSM, 2007). By mid 2009, an amicable agreement was reached by DSM and the authorities to jointly solve the groundwater problem (Delft, 2009; Hoogheemraadschap, 2009).