{"title":"Recentralizing state power in decentralized small drinking water system governance in New Mexico, USA","authors":"B. Warner, T. Colvin, Ria Mukerji","doi":"10.1080/07900627.2021.1976116","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT We study the role of the state in small drinking water system governance in New Mexico, USA. Using interviews and demographic data, we develop a grounded theory of the political economy of public accountability in decentralized water governance. We find that the state decentralizes water governance by enforcing public accountability requirements in poor, non-white communities that do not meet its standards for drinking water provisioning. By doing so, it relieves itself of the burden of safe drinking water provisioning. We challenge the assumption that state authority is abated through decentralization and contribute to understandings of inequality in water governance.","PeriodicalId":50279,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Water Resources Development","volume":"39 1","pages":"26 - 47"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2021-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Water Resources Development","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2021.1976116","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"WATER RESOURCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
ABSTRACT We study the role of the state in small drinking water system governance in New Mexico, USA. Using interviews and demographic data, we develop a grounded theory of the political economy of public accountability in decentralized water governance. We find that the state decentralizes water governance by enforcing public accountability requirements in poor, non-white communities that do not meet its standards for drinking water provisioning. By doing so, it relieves itself of the burden of safe drinking water provisioning. We challenge the assumption that state authority is abated through decentralization and contribute to understandings of inequality in water governance.
期刊介绍:
International Journal of Water Resources Development is a policy and practice-oriented Journal that covers all aspects of water resources policy, management, development and governance. It is an interdisciplinary journal that focuses on water resources and their economic, financial, social and environmental-related impacts. Contributions which include the interdependences and inter-linkages between the water and the agricultural, energy, industrial and health sectors in both developed and developing countries, both at present and in the future, are welcome.