A Japanese government report from 1993 shows that this whole area was affected by industry using this ground water to supply its factories and nuclear plants. This caused a vast subsidence all along the coast and on the Fukushima plain. Needless to say, TEPCO needs to be very careful how they manage these layers of ground water because it covers a vast area. And this was likely the reason for the need for a sluice gate to replace the ground-water restrictions brought in after the ground-subsidence issues reported above.
Below I leave you with some relevant quotes and links;
"...Ever since peaking at about 640,000 in 1996, the number of visitors to Oze has been on a decline. The past few years saw numbers sitting at about 300,000, though in 2010 a year-on-year increase was recorded for the first time in two years.
"Hot spring spa also suffers
"Visitor numbers to Shiobara hot spring spa in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture--about 120 kilometers away from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant--have also plummeted since the disaster.
"The amount of radiation measured in the city stood at 0.45
microsievert per hour as of Monday, less than half of that recorded in
the city of Fukushima. Despite this, the number of guests to the spa
fell 75 per cent in March, 60 per cent in April and 25 per cent in May,
from the same months last year...."
The Yomiuri Shimbun/Asia News Network
Fri, Jul 08, 2011
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Asia/Story/A1Story20110708-288089.html#sthash.QLwF7uVM.dpuf
* TEPCO is the land owner of 40 % (16,000 hectares) of the Oze
national park that is designated as a special national treasure of
Japan, which covers 70% of special protection area in the park. TEPCO
aims to be a company that coexists with the local community through both
communication (services) and the facilities. (Source TEPCO Facebook; however, the 1999 OECD report says that TEPCO owns 60 percent.)
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
