(De)centralized Water Futures: Key Dimensions of Infrastructure, Governance, and Operations
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.
Authors
- Alida Cantor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4748-4869)
- Jenny Rempel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3916-2405)
- Alicia Dailey Cooperman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1652-4488)
- Amber Wutich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4164-1632)
- Cassandra L. Workman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0021-6541)
- Linda Estelí Méndez‐Barrientos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8759-6908)
- Ellis Adjei Adams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3783-9005)
- Melissa Beresford (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5707-3943)
- Nicole J. Wilson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9119-1687)
- Sameer H. Shah (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1309-0039)
- Jeremiah Osborne‐Gowey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9239-7436)
- Justin Stoler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8435-7012)
- Manuela Muñoz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8890-4535)
- Leila M. Harris (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1700-1902)
Institutions
- University of Notre Dame (US)
- Texas Tech University (US)
- Portland State University (US)
- University of Denver (US)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- University of Miami (US)
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro (US)
- George Washington University (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- University of Johannesburg (ZA)
- University of Manitoba (CA)
- San Jose State University (US)
- Arizona State University (US)
- Texas A&M University (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Water
- Published
- 2025-09-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.70035
- Primary Topic
- Water Governance and Infrastructure
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Canada Research Chairs
- National Institutes of Health