Cuadrado-Quesada, G. 2022. Governing groundwater: between law and practice. Springer, Softcover ISBN978-3-030-92780-6, 169 p., €127.
(URL: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-92778-3 )
Owen McIntyre
School of Law, University College Cork, National University of Ireland; o.mcintyre@ucc.ie
To cite this review: McIntyre, O. 2025. Review of “Governing groundwater: between law and practice”, Springer, 2022, G. Cuadrado-Quesada, Water Alternatives, https://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/boh/item/390-gwlaw
Few informed commentators could possibly argue that the governance of groundwater is not an under-explored topic in academic literature, and so this wide-ranging and ambitious study is a very welcome addition. The author sets out to achieve one key, ambitious aim – to explore how the relevant legal and policy frameworks function in reality to shape the everyday practice of groundwater governance. This exploration employs two lenses through which qualitatively to assess groundwater law’s performance in practice – the interrelated and centrally relevant principles of equity and sustainability which together provide the well-established and dominant overarching value framework for water law. This is no small feat, as it requires detailed examination of the practical functioning of a range of aspects of groundwater law’ application, and of the various regulatory tools employed therein, having due regard to the different social, cultural, economic, political and ecological contexts in which it operates.
It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the work presented in this volume is interdisciplinary in substance and quite complex methodologically, comprising a carefully integrated study composed of different elements involving three distinct research approaches: (i) a literature review, including legal, social science and water governance scholarship; (ii) normative analysis of legal and policy instruments in selected jurisdictions, along with analysis of how these have been developed and implemented; and (iii) empirical research and analysis, involving 120 in-depth interviews with policy-makers, technicians, civil society actors, journalists and assorted water-users, as well as participant observation and open discussion conducted in stakeholder meetings. In order to focus on the operation of groundwater law and policy in a manageable number of representative jurisdictions, the author selects a rich sample of six case-studies for detailed examination, covering four different national jurisdictions (Australia, Costa Rica, India and the Netherlands). Though these are countries in which the author has worked, and thus of which she has a deep knowledge and practical understanding, she convincingly justifies her selection on the grounds that it represents ‘a wide range of political, socio-economic and environmental challenges in countries in the Global North and Global South’.
Though complicated (and presumably involving very considerable effort), the approach works well overall. The case studies are cleverly selected and informative, well-structured and clearly presented, and rich in practical lessons for policy-makers and water resources planners. They allow the author to develop (and to outline in the final two chapters) a range of useful and insightful conclusions, principally relating to the observation that ‘the mandates of many groundwater policies, laws and regulations are somewhat detached from people’s practices of use and dealing with groundwater’ and, thus, ‘it problematises the need (everywhere) of “conversations” between groundwater practices and law’. Of course, the author also goes further in identifying key features that might be incorporated into groundwater law frameworks in order to improve governance in practice, such as greater reliance on local communities’ knowledge and carefully targeted use of public funding.
While this book will prove an interesting and worthwhile read for anyone engaged in water resources management and governance (and for undergraduate or postgraduate students engaged in study or research in related disciplines), it appears to be aimed more at those professionals engaged in economic and social aspects of water resources management than at the water lawyer. The legal analysis is in places somewhat perfunctory and one-dimensional, not going much beyond a descriptive account of the relevant and applicable legal frameworks, though this may of course be due to the extensive ground covered across six case-studies. Also, in framing her methodological approach to the underlying research, the author might have had more regard to the analytical frameworks developed by legal realists, such as Carl Llewellyn, especially modern legal realists, such as Brian Tamanaha. However, these are very minor shortcomings (if indeed they are shortcomings at all) in respect of a scholarly volume that presents such original and meticulous research on the topic of groundwater governance, and thereby provides an invaluable resource for scholar, practitioners and policy-makers alike. The six case-studies alone are a must-read for anyone interested or engaged in any aspect of groundwater governance.
