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.
Cooperman, A.D., Rempel, J.L., Adams, E.A., Cantor, A., Fuerte, M.M., Osborne-Gowey, J., Wilsin, 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), e70035.
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