Sponsor
This work was supported by National Science Foundation funded HWISE-Research Coordination Network (BCS-1759972) and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (DGE-1752814). It was supported by the following National Science Foundation grants: BCS2143766, BCS-2308573, GCR-2021147, and EEC-1449500. It was supported in part by the Texas A&M University System Chancellor's EDGES Fellowship program and the Canada Research Chairs Program (#950-232734). It was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number 1-P20ES036775.
Published In
Wires Water
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-15-2025
Subjects
Water supply, Water demand management, Water -- Distribution
Abstract
Water system centralization and decentralization have variously been promoted as key to achieving household water security and Sustainable Development Goal 6.1. We argue that the lack of specificity with which scholars and practitioners use the terms centralization and decentralization limits our understanding of different water system configurations and their impacts. In this Primer, we provide a framework for thinking about levels of (de)centralization across three linked system dimensions: infrastructure, governance, and operations and maintenance. We encourage those analyzing water systems to characterize (de)centralization with respect to these multiple dimensions, as well as the system's broader political-economic and hydro-climatic contexts. Emphasizing the importance of delineating the scale of analysis, we highlight distinct system configurations and the prevalence of hybridity. Increased specificity about dimensions and scale can clarify how the character of, or changes to, a given system impact users, which is critical to assessing their implications for water security, sustainability, and equity. We conclude with recommendations for future research to analyze the opportunities and challenges associated with different water system configurations. This article is categorized under: Human Water > Water Governance.
Rights
© 2025 The Author(s). WIREs Water published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Locate the Document
DOI
10.1002/wat2.70035
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44138
Publisher
Wiley
Citation Details
Cooperman, A. D., Rempel, J. L., Adams, E. A., Cantor, A., Fuerte, M. M., Osborne‐Gowey, J., Wilson, N. J., Workman, C. L., Beresford, M., Harris, L. M., Méndez‐Barrientos, L. E., Shah, S. H., Wutich, A., & Stoler, J. (2025). (De)centralized Water Futures: Key Dimensions of Infrastructure, Governance, and Operations. WIREs Water, 12(5). Portico.