Changing Flows: Sociotechnical Tinkering for Adaptive Water Management.

The Western United States is experiencing historic drought, increasing pressure on water management systems. Agricultural production that relies on surface water flows is therefore imperiled, requiring new innovations and partnerships in order to adapt and survive. In Arizona, some agriculture continues to rely on historic, low-tech irrigation infrastructure such as hand-dug open ditches that divert river water to flood fields. These ditch systems are managed through both formal ditch companies and informal associations. To address changing water availability and needs, ditch users regularly "tinker" with water infrastructure, experimenting and making changes beyond the original infrastructure plans. Such changes are informed and driven by local social relationships and realities of the physical infrastructure. These dynamics are critical to understanding the adaptive capacity and flexibility of the water system; however, they are challenging to recognize and record. In this paper, we apply the emerging conceptualization of sociotechnical tinkering to examine the adaptive management of irrigation ditches in the Verde Valley of Arizona. We find evidence that water users frequently tinker with their water delivery and monitoring infrastructure to respond to and anticipate changes in water availability. Viewed through the lens of sociotechnical tinkering, these interactions are understood as the material manifestations of situated practice and actor agency within a water management system. This case study contributes to literature on adaptive environmental management and the hydrosocial cycle.

Changes to California alfalfa production and perceptions during the 2011-2017 drought.

California experienced a severe multi-year drought stretching from 2011-2017, significantly reducing surface water supply for ecosystems, agriculture, and humans, and prompting coordinated conservation efforts. Given that agriculture is the largest consumptive use of water in the state, one anticipated response to a severe drought would be to decrease production of low-value, high-water-use crops such as alfalfa. In this paper we use a multi-methods approach to examine both spatial distribution and public perceptions of alfalfa production in California over the course of the 2011-2017 drought. We find that while California alfalfa production did decline at the state level, it persisted and even increased in specific areas of the state. We also find that alfalfa persisted even though discourses and understandings that were critical of alfalfa production emerged in public forums during this time. We situate these findings within a broader context of California's water management system, which meant that in practice, infrastructure and water rights allocation practices left many growers with little incentive to change growing practices even in the face of serious meteorological drought.

Examining the complex relationship between innovation and regulation through a survey of wastewater utility managers.

Despite pressures to increase performance and decrease costs, innovation has been slow to emerge in the municipal wastewater sector. The relationship between regulation and innovation in this sector is a particularly interesting aspect of this conundrum, given the degree to which public utility decision-making is influenced by regulation. Using a national survey, this paper examines US wastewater utility managers' perceptions of how regulation influences the adoption of new technologies. Recognizing that the relationship between innovation and regulation is complex, we develop the concept of regulation as multifaceted and examine three interrelated aspects of regulation: (1) regulatory requirements, (2) regulators and relationships, and (3) the broader regulatory environment. Specifically, we seek to understand whether and in what ways wastewater utility managers perceive these aspects of regulation as hindering or encouraging the adoption of new technologies. We find that, although stringent effluent limitations are perceived to be a moderate barrier to innovation, most survey respondents did not identify weakening them as a way to encourage innovation. Instead, respondents generally identified factors related to regulatory relationships and factors related to the broader regulatory environment as barriers to innovation, and indicated that addressing these aspects of regulation would encourage innovation. We conclude that loosening or tightening regulatory requirements is not the most effective way to promote innovation in the municipal wastewater sector. Rather, those parties with an interest in innovation can focus on helping utilities and regulators build relationships and better navigate the processes that influence decisions about new technologies.