Common sense principles governing potable water recycling in the southwestern US: Examining subjectivity of water stewards using Q methodology

Ormerod, Kerri Jean

doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2017.09.004

Cited by 27 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Importantly, results showed that geography shapes perspectives; this has been noted in other applications of Q-methodology (Nost, Robertson, & Lave, 2019;Ormerod, 2017;see Hirsch & Baxter, 2009 on the influence of space in how environmental issues are perceived). The most straightforward explanation is that subjectivities are 'informed by shared practice and everyday lived experience and is therefore geographically and historically specific' (Ormerod, 2017, p. 77).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Understanding Difference to Build Bridges among Stakeholders: Perceptions of Participation in Four Multi-stakeholder Forums in the Peruvian Amazon

Barletti

Larson

Vigil

2021

The Journal of Development Studies

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Understanding Difference to Build Bridges among Stakeholders: Perceptions of Participation in Four Multi-stakeholder Forums in the Peruvian Amazon

Barletti

Larson

Vigil

2021

The Journal of Development Studies

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“…Ward (2013) adopted Q methodology to assess what it means to water management experts in Paraguay to be involved in a policy and planning environment. Ormerod (2017) examined the subjective views of water stewards regarding the current planning discourse surrounding potable water reuse in the southwestern US. Iribarnegaray et al (2014) used Q methodology to show that the limited success of water policies in Salta (Argentina) was partly due to ignorance or disregard of users' social perspectives on water management.…”

Section: Q Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying diverging sustainability meanings for water policy: a Q-method study in Phoenix, Arizona

et al. 2021

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We identify and describe social perspectives on the sustainability of the water sector in the metropolitan area of Phoenix, Arizona. Using Q methodology, we find evidence for different meanings of sustainability when stakeholders are presented with concrete policy options and applications in spite of an apparently widespread agreement on the concept of sustainability itself. We put the social perspectives articulated by local stakeholders in perspective by analyzing whether they adhere to a commonly used set of sustainability principles when applied to water management and governance. The analysis indicates that although there is some level of acceptance of sustainability principles among the social perspectives identified, there are important discrepancies in the salience of different principles. Results suggest that when people are interacting in policy-making processes they tend to support their previously held own vision of the problems and that their normative considerations may be opposed to broadly accepted sustainability discourses. The different visions of water sustainability may have a direct impact on the water policy-making process depending on the position and influence of the actors involved in the governance scheme.

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“…This article provides additional analysis of the first known study to employ Q to study the subjectivity of people with interests or connections to reclaimed water in the Southwest, which indicated two competing perspectives regarding the principles that should guide the future of potable water reuse. The primary quantitative findings from this study have been published previously, which includes the factor loading table (i.e., each respondent associated to common groups through a statistically significant score) and the full statement set with factor scores for each perspective (i.e., contrasting the distinguishing and salient statements between factors) (Ormerod 2017). The results presented in this article focus on the qualitative data to develop rich descriptions of the subjectivity of the study participants: people who are particularly knowledgeable about urban water supply, water disposal, and water reuse options in the Southwest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Contemporary political ecologists frequently acknowledge the social power of various infrastructures as a means to explain human-environment relations, including rainwater collection (Meehan 2014), desalination (McEvoy 2015, stormwater capture (Cousins 2017a(Cousins , 2017b, urban water reuse (Ormerod 2017), and composting toilets (Radonic and Kelly-Richards 2015). As a result, political ecologists often propose that "[i]nfrastructures act in the world in ways that both co-produce the operation of power while also opening up space for material contestation" (Millington 2018: 28).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toilet power: potable water reuse and the situated meaning of sustainability in the southwestern United States

Ormerod

2019

Journal of Political Ecology

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Proposals to recycle urban wastewater for potable purposes are at the forefront of water development. In this article I combine political ecology's attention to networked relations with Q methodology to identify the shared positions of select stakeholders in the southwestern United States, an urbanizing region increasingly reliant on potable water reuse. I employ critical Q methodology to provide a contextual understanding of how water and sanitation technology shapes subjects and environments. The analyses reveal two distinct sanitary subjectivities, which I label neosanitarian and ecosanitarian, whose views most sharply diverge regarding the appropriateness of direct potable reuse and composting toilets. The findings highlight the situated meaning of sustainability and also underscore the role that wastewater and water reuse play in shaping ecologies, which in turn, helps to identify the environments of elimination that make specific innovations in the water sector possible. In conclusion, I suggest that in the broader context of potable water reuse, the toilet is in a perniciously powerful position to make city-spaces and shape the future citizenry. RésuméLes propositions de recyclage des eaux usées urbaines à des fins potables sont à la pointe du développement de l'eau. Dans cet article, je combine l'attention de l'écologie politique sur les relations en réseau avec la méthodologie Q pour identifier les positions communes de parties prenantes sélectionnées dans le sud-ouest des États-Unis, une région en pleine urbanisation qui dépend de plus en plus de la réutilisation de l'eau potable. J'utilise une méthodologie Q critique pour fournir une compréhension contextuelle de la manière dont la technologie de l'eau et de l'assainissement façonne les sujets et les environnements. Les analyses révèlent deux subjectivités sanitaires distinctes, que je qualifie de néosanitaires et d'écosanitaires, dont les points de vue divergent considérablement en ce qui concerne la pertinence des toilettes à réutilisation directe et à compostage. Les résultats soulignent la signification localisée de la durabilité et soulignent également le rôle que jouent la réutilisation des eaux usées dans l'écologie, ce qui aide à identifier les environnements d'élimination permettant des innovations spécifiques dans le secteur de l'eau. En conclusion, je suggère que, dans le contexte plus large de la réutilisation de l'eau potable, les toilettes occupent une position extrêmement puissante pour créer des espaces urbains et façonner les citoyens de demain. Mots-clés: infrastructure, métabolisme urbain, méthodologie Q, recyclage de l'eau, toilettes à compost 1 Dr.

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Common sense principles governing potable water recycling in the southwestern US: Examining subjectivity of water stewards using Q methodology

Cited by 27 publications

References 34 publications

Understanding Difference to Build Bridges among Stakeholders: Perceptions of Participation in Four Multi-stakeholder Forums in the Peruvian Amazon

Understanding Difference to Build Bridges among Stakeholders: Perceptions of Participation in Four Multi-stakeholder Forums in the Peruvian Amazon

Identifying diverging sustainability meanings for water policy: a Q-method study in Phoenix, Arizona

Toilet power: potable water reuse and the situated meaning of sustainability in the southwestern United States

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