Study on the irrigation water environmental improvement based on the residents' willingness to pay for its multi-functionality in Kanazawa city

Abstract

Participation of city residents in irrigation water management is required for its sustainable maintenance in urban areas. In order to its promotion, this study aims to examine the irrigation water environment that raises the awareness of urban residents for its maintenance. In this study, a large-scale questionnaire survey has been conducted in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, to investigate the willingness to pay for the nine functions of the irrigation water and the preference for its environment. Then, it has been analyzed that the relationship between the preference for irrigation water environment and the awareness of its management based on binomial logistic regression analysis. As a result, it was found that what urban residents especially appreciate as a multi-functionally of irrigation water are "utilization as a snow dump", "prevention of flooding and fire", and "atmospheric adjustment function". It was also revealed that the improvement of "access to irrigation water" and "walking environment" contribute to the raise of the willingness to pay for the irrigation water management. These results suggest the possibility and the importance of strategic irrigation water development to raise management awareness of city residents.