ABSTRACT
Water is essential to life. It is deeply imbued with cultural and spiritual understandings. Water nourishes, cleanses, grows our food, and is fundamental to human health and survival. At the same time, the ability of global fresh water systems to adequately supply water services and sanitation to the world’s population is under threat and millions of people around the world lack access to clean, safe drinking water (Bakker 2010). Pollution, climate change, and deforestation threaten the world’s fresh water supply while global consumption of water is rising at a rate faster than population growth (Barlow and Clarke 2001). In the context of increased climate change, poverty, and urban migration, water – urban drinking water in particular – has emerged as a key issue globally. Debates about the management and conservation of water resources focus on scarcity and stewardship, ownership and control, and environmental and social justice (Bakker 2010; Conca 2006; Robinson 2013).
