Small systems, big challenges: Review of small drinking water system governance.

Abstract:

Small drinking water systems (SDWS) are widely identified as presenting particular challenges for drinking water management and governance in industrialised nations because of their small customer base, geographic isolation, and limited human and financial capacity. Consequently, an increasing number and range of scholars have examined SDWS over the last 30 years. Much of this work has been technocentric in nature, focused on SDWS technologies and operations, with limited attention to how these systems are managed, governed, and situated within broader social and political–economic contexts. This review seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of the governance dimensions of SDWS by drawing together existing literature relating to SDWS governance and exploring its key themes, research foci, and emerging directions. This overview is intended to provide guidance to scholars and practitioners interested in specific aspects of SDWS governance and a baseline against which researchers can position future work. The review identified 117 academic articles published in English-language journals between 1990 and 2016 that referred to some aspect of drinking water governance in small, rural, and Indigenous communities in industrialised nations. The articles’ content and bibliographic information were analysed to identify the locations, methods, journals, and themes included in research on SDWS governance. Further analysis of SDWS’ governance dimensions is organised around four questions identified as central to SDWS research: what governance challenges are experienced by SDWS, and what are their causes, solutions, and effects? Overall, the review revealed that the SDWS governance literature is piecemeal and fragmented, with few attempts to theorise SDWS governance or to engage in interdisciplinary, cross-jurisdictional conversations. The majority of articles examine North American SDWS, retain a technocratic orientation to drinking water governance, and are published in technical or industry journals. Such research tends to focus on the governance challenges SDWS face and proposed solutions to systems’ performance, capacity, and regulatory challenges. A small but growing number of studies examine the causal factors underpinning these governance challenges and their socio-spatially differentiated impacts on communities. Looking forward, the review argues for a more holistic, integrative approach to research on SDWS governance, building on a water governance framework.

Keywords: Small Water Systems, Drinking Water, Governance, Rural, Indigenous, Literature Review 

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http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full/10.1139/er-2018-0033.

McFarlane, K. and L. Harris (2018). “Small systems, big challenges: Review of small drinking water system governance.”Environmental Reviews.https://doi.org/10.1139/er-2018-0033

 

Media Events

1.) Unceded Airwaves. (2017). What is UNDRIP? Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/user-505235098/what-is-undrip

2.) (2017). The Decolonizing Water Project. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/user-505235098/open-house-at-citr

3.) (2017). World Water Day. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/user-505235098/world-water-day

4.) Unceded Airwaves. (2017). We Have Stories: Women and Fish. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/user-505235098/we-have-stories

 

Artistic Works

1.) Sustainable Water Governance and Indigenous Law. (2017). Decolonizing Water Project: Indigenous Water Law [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/228287217

2.)Sustainable Water Governance and Indigenous Law. (2017). How We Work [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/240253539

3.) Sustainable Water Governance and Indigenous Law. (2017). Indigenous Water Law [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/240254742

4.) Sustainable Water Governance and Indigenous Law. (2017). Clay and Water: Artist KC Clay on Traditional Pottery [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/261561860

5.) Sustainable Water Governance and Indigenous Law. (2017). Anishinaabe Nibi (Water) Gathering [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/268091825

Articles in Popular Media

1.) Wong, R., & Goto, H. (2017, November 30). Opinion: A letter from the future on Site C. Vancouver Observer. Retrieved from https://www.vancouverobserver.com/opinion/opinion-letter-future-site-c

2.) Hendriks, R., Raphals, P., Bakker, K., & Christie, G. (2017, November 21). First Nations and Hydropower: The Case of British Columbia’s Site C Dam Project.” Items: Insights from the Social Sciences. Retrieved from https://items.ssrc.org/first-nations-and-hydropower-the-case-of-british-columbias-site-c-dam-project/

3.) Askew, H. (2017, October 31). UNDRIP has Implications for Fresh Water Governance in Canada. The Lawyer’s Daily. Retrieved from https://www.thelawyersdaily.ca/articles/5007/undrip-has-implications-for-fresh-water-governance-in-canada-hannah-askew

4.) Bakker, K., Hendriks, R., & Raphals, P. (2017, May 12). UBC Professor rebuts criticism of Site C dam Economics Study. Business Vancouver. Retrieved from https://biv.com/article/2017/05/ubc-professor-rebuts-criticism-site-c-dam-economic

5.) Christie, G., Hendriks, R., Raphals, P., & Bakker, K. (2017, April 19). Site C: it’s not too late to hit pause. Policy Options. Retrieved from http://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/april-2017/site-c-its-not-too-late-to-hit-pause/

6.) Terbasket, K. (2017, April 19). Learning On the Land: IndigenEYEZ Visits Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning. IndigenEYEZ. Retrieved from https://indigeneyez.com/dreaming_the_future/

7.) Craft, A. (2017 March/April). Nibi onje biimaadiiziiwin. Water Canada. Retrieved from https://gallery.mailchimp.com/3a7abd98aab99ad64d6966108/files/7d5ed33c-6b33-4621-b4a9-e74d8028029c/Water_Canada_artilce_20170301_full.pdf

Book Chapters

1.) Craft, A. (2016). Giving and receiving life from Anishinaabe nibi inaakonigewin (our water law) research. In J. Thorpe, S. Rutherford & L.A. Sandberg (Eds.), Methodological challenges in Nature-Culture and Environmental History Research (pp. 125-139). London, UK: Routledge.

2.) Harris, L. (2016). Theorizing gender, ethnic difference, and inequality in relation to water access and quality in southeastern Turkey. In C.M. Ashcraft & T. Mayer (Eds.), The Politics of Fresh Water (pp. 141-155). London UK: Routledge.

3.) Bakker, K. (2017). The Business of Water. In K. Conca & E. Weinthal (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Water Politics and Water Policy (pp. 1-28). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

4.) Bakker, K., Harris, L., Joe, N. & Simms, R. (2017). Indigenous People and Water Governance in Canada: Regulatory Injustice and Prospects for Reform. In R. Boelens, T. Perreault & J. Vos, Water Justice (pp. 193-209). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

5.) Norman, E., & Bakker, K. (2017). Transcending borders through post-colonial water governance? Indigenous water governance across the Canada-US border. In S. Renzetti & D.P. Dupont, Water Policy and Governance in Canada (pp. 139-157). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

6.) Mohensi, M., McBean, E.A., & Rodriguez, M.J. (2017). Chlorination of drinking water – Scientific evidence and policy implications. In S. Renzetti & D.P. Dupont, Water Policy and Governance in Canada (pp. 357-373). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

7.) Dunn, G., Harris, L., & Bakker, K. (2017). Canadian drinking water policy: jurisdictional variation in the context of decentralized water governance. In S. Renzetti & D.P. Dupont, Water Policy and Governance in Canada (pp. 301-320). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

Water Justice

Boelens, R., Perreault, T., Vos, J., & Vos, J. (Eds.). (2018). Water Justice. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.

Abstract:

Water justice is becoming an ever- more pressing issue in times of increasing water- based inequalities and discrimination. Megacities, mining, forestry, industry, and agribusiness claim an increasingly large share of available surface and groundwater reserves. Water  grabbing and pollution generate poverty and endanger ecosystems’ sustainability. Beyond large, visible injustices, the book also unfolds the many “hidden” water world injustices, subtly masked as “rational,” “equitable,” and “democratic.” It features critical conceptual approaches, including analysis of environmental, social, cultural, and legal issues surrounding the distribution and management of water. Illustrated with case studies of historic and contemporary water injustices and contestations around the world, the book lays new ground for challenging current water governance forms and unequal power structures. It also provides inspiration for building alternative water realities. With contributions from renowned scholars, this is an indispensable book for students, researchers, and policy makers interested in water governance, environmental policy and law, political geography, and cultural anthropology.

Link to book

 

Team Members Interviewed in Media

1.) Kurajata, A. (2017, January 15). Site C ruling shows Canadian courts don’t take reconciliation seriously, says law professor. CBC. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/site-c-ruling-shows-canadian-courts-don-t-take-reconciliation-seriously-says-law-professor-1.3952267

2.) Roundhouse Radio 98.3 Vancouver. (2018, April 17). Middays with Jody Vance – Karen Bakker and Gordon Christie. Retrieved from https://cirh2.streamon.fm/listen-pl-13421

3.) Gray, C. (2018, June 21). Decolonizing Water: A Conversation with Aimée Craft. Retrieved from Centre for International Governance Innovation website: https://www.cigionline.org/articles/decolonizing-water-conversation-aimee-craft

4.) CBC Radio. (2018, April 19). Indigenous environmental justice works to turn long-standing stewardship into recognized governance. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/earth-day-indigenous-scientists-academics-and-community-members-take-the-lead-in-environmental-causes-1.4605336/indigenous-environmental-justice-works-to-turn-long-standing-stewardship-into-recognized-governance-1.4605340

5.)  (2018, April). Site C and High Modernity. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/citedpodcast/site-c-and-high-modernity