JAWRA: Fifty‐Five Years of Sustained Contributions for Improved Water Resources Management — The Fifth Decade (2005–2014)

The fifth decade of the journal (2005–2014) once again marked a time of several exciting happenings. The Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) transitioned from being an in-house publication and partnered with Blackwell Publishing Inc., which was subsequently acquired by Wiley & Sons, a world-renowned publisher of research journals and scientific content. This transition allowed JAWRA to spread its reach beyond its traditional boundaries and quickly disseminate information across the globe. This period also saw the transition from an email-based submission system to an online submission platform (Scholar One) which is still in use today. My predecessor, Mr. Ken Lanfear, had the right vision to see where the publishing world was headed and wisely timed this transition. Our wonderful managing editor, Ms. Susan Scalia, played a key role in ensuring the transitions were smooth and seamless. JAWRA was one of the early adopters of the now common publisher-hosted society-journal model. This period is also particularly special to me as I was brought on board as an associate editor for subsurface hydrology. The decade spanning 2004–2014 once again represented a period of significant changes. Internet technologies had matured and new data hosting platforms, computational models (cloud computing), and (wireless) sensor technologies were being created at a rapid pace. These changes again allowed water resources professionals to collect data with much higher velocities, rapidly disseminate them to a broad audience, and use real-world datasets to build complex models of water resources systems. Perhaps the most transformative change during this decade was the advent of social media. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms all began during this decade providing forums for massive public interactions. Stakeholder-based, collaborative water resources management was already being seen as a pragmatic way to solve water resources problems. Understanding public perceptions and incorporating their preferences in water management took a giant leap forward during this decade. In this editorial, I will highlight some of the seminal papers in JAWRA which focused on the social aspects of water. While this choice precludes me from highlighting several important papers on modeling and monitoring of water resources systems, it seeks to highlight one very important component of the water resources discipline (i.e., social aspects of water) that is often the very purpose scientific and technical advancements are intended to serve better. Using the state of Oregon as a testbed, Dakins et al. (2005) evaluated the perceptions of environmental groups. Their findings indicated participation in these groups allowed people to better understand the perceptions and positions of other members in the watershed, but groups did not help improve public relationships with governmental agencies. Furthermore, consensus-driven, self-organized groups were seen to be more effective in making decisions than groups with restricted memberships. The results from their study provide vital insights into how stakeholder-driven watershed groups should evolve to promote effective decentralized decision making. Floods are devastating hazards whose intensity and frequency have been exacerbated by climate change in many parts of the world. Flood control measures are increasingly becoming expansive and there is a growing shift in how flood control measures are being paid for. Governmental funding of such measures is generally on the decline with a greater expectation from the public to defray some of the costs. Zhai et al. (2006) evaluated the willingness to pay for flood risk reduction in Japan. Their study found individual preparedness or experience with prior flooding and their income levels increased the public’s willingness to pay for flood control projects. However, the willingness to pay declined with people who lived away from the river. Flood control risks could not be viewed in isolation and had to be placed in the larger context of other risks the individuals perceived. Thus, the study provided insights on important factors and strategies which can improve public participation and funding of flood control measures. Economics, climate, and social policy choices all affect water demands in a watershed. Water needs to be periodically reallocated to meet these changing demands, especially when climate-induced factors (droughts) affect available supplies. In snowmelt-driven systems, climate change not only affects supplies (volume) but also alters the timing of peak flows. Environmental flows place an important constraint on reallocation of water. Water reallocation is a contentious process and decisions have far reaching implications on future development of a region. Slaughter and Wiener (2007) study institutional frameworks for water reallocation in Snake and Klamath rivers (two important rivers in the Western United States [U.S.] with a long-history of water conflicts). Their study highlighted the need for well-defined, privately owned water rights. These rights provide a basis for developing markets (as opposed to politics) as a mechanism to adapt and deal with water conflicts. The legal and administrative framework of water in the United States is complex and involves multiple institutions and entities across federal, state, and local governments. However, the authority for intrastate water resources development and management largely rests with state and local entities except when water systems cross stateliness and are used for navigation and commerce. Interstate and federal-state cooperation is often necessary to manage transboundary water bodies that span across state (and/or international) boundaries. Transboundary water conflicts are often resolved through litigation which invariably is a slow and contentious process. Mandarano et al. (2008) take a critical look at governance structures which provide alternatives to traditional federalism or U.S. Supreme Court litigation. They show while interstate compacts and federal-state partnerships provide viable alternatives, the fragmented system of federalist government in the U.S. allows them to make only modest improvements to transboundary water management calling for a fundamental restructuring of water law in the U.S. Floress et al. (2009) once again visit the topic of collaborative watershed planning groups and identify the role of structural and procedural elements in constraining the effectiveness of watershed planning groups. They define structural elements to include factors such as membership, project partners, and funding. Leadership, shared vision, and mission development are indicators of procedural elements. Using mixed-methods research (focus groups, interviews, survey research, and meeting observations), they study the dynamics of a watershed planning group funded through the Clean Water Act section 319 funds. Factors such as homogeneous skill set, ill-defined group and partner roles, and failed problem identification contributed to organizational inertia in their case study. Both structural and procedural elements must therefore be evaluated and properly defined and managed to ensure the success of multi-stakeholder watershed planning process. Effective water conservation programs require both structural solutions and nonstructural (policy) interventions. While modern technology, such as automated sprinkler systems, may provide tools for better water management, they also can have an opposite effect, especially when operated remotely or set to follow schedules incongruent with moisture demands. Kilgren et al. (2010) studied irrigation watered landscape management in several schools. They found schools with high water demands often used automated systems, whereas those with lower demands tended to have manual devices. Irrigation water efficiencies were generally higher with manual systems, especially when situational awareness based on general scientific principles and experiential knowledge was used to drive water conservation interventions. Their study clearly highlights the need for effective human-technology interfacing that is necessary to manage water efficiently. Investments in technology without proper human resource training and situational understanding will not bring forth the intended improvements. Market-based solutions are not only useful to manage water allocation decisions but also have been explored to improve water quality in watersheds. Water quality trading is an approach which seeks to optimize the right locations for reducing pollutants within a watershed considering not just the legal requirements, but also other factors such as ease of implementation of technologies and overall value to the environment and ecosystems. As part of a featured collection titled “Issues in Water Quality Trading” (JAWRA, Vol 47 (1), 2011), O’Grady (2011) explored sociopolitical conditions necessary for implementing a successful water quality trading program in the South Nations River Watershed, Ontario, Canada. In this watershed, point sources (wastewater treatment plants) were buying credits from farmers who reduced their nonpoint source phosphorus loadings using constructed wetlands. The study identified several key sociopolitical factors for implementing successful water quality trading programs, which include: community agreement, legislative backing, credit and cost certainty, simplified delivery and verification, written instruments, and legal liability protection. The use of a community-based watershed organization to serve as a broker handling transactions and field visits by farmers and not paid professionals further improved the public image and stakeholder buy-in into the program. This study presents another example of how effective technology-human interface is often necessary to create successful water management programs. Crowdsourcing of water data through citizen science projects is another important avenue of interactions between humans and (monitoring) technologies. As cell phones become more powerful, and data repositories easier to access, crowdsourced data will continue to see increased use in the future. Citizen scientists can help generate a large quantity of data in a relatively short period of time. However, public trust of such data is a key component in whether it will be used for water resources decision making. In a pioneering study, Thornton and Leahy (2012) use a case study titled “Groundwater Education Through Water Evaluation & Testing (GET WET!)” to evaluate public trust in citizen science programs. The GET WET! Program brought students in Grades 5–12 together with community volunteers in five different states to help monitor and analyze groundwater quality data. The case study highlighted the importance of interpersonal trust between students, faculty, and community volunteers; ease and familiarity with data collection protocols; as well as external quality control/quality assurance measures while developing successful student-based citizen science programs. Public disposition to trust data collected by citizen scientists was also a key determinant in whether the data would likely be used in water resources decision making. Building interpersonal relationships between citizen scientists and end users of data were therefore crucial for ensuring the eventual use of citizen science data. Traditionally JAWRA has served as an important peer-reviewed forum to critically evaluate public policies and proactively suggest improvements which will ensure the spirit of the water policy (it’s intended purpose) is made more congruent with its letter (written requirements). Bronner et al. (2013) present a multidisciplinary critique of the U.S. stream compensatory mitigation policy. Their analysis highlights key weaknesses of the policy in using nonspecific language to direct compensatory key mitigation and a heavy emphasis on wetland mitigation as compared to other aquatic resources (e.g., streams). They make several important recommendations which include clear definition of key terms, use of adaptive management procedures, and providing guidelines for determining mitigation costs and compensation ratios. The multidisciplinary focus of JAWRA once again provided an important forum to conduct scientifically credible, peer-reviewed discourse of water policies that affect the management and regulation of nation’s water bodies. Socioeconomic aspects of water in under-developed and developing nations contrast sharply with those in developed societies. The lack of modern institutions and instruments to manage water is a significant limitation on how water is allocated, especially under changing climate and population growth stresses. Salman et al. (2014) report a systematic evaluation of various water appropriation and governance options in the lower Tigris-Euphrates basin in Iraq and a large agricultural area that relies heavily on irrigated agriculture and is important to maintain food security in the middle east. Their study indicates proportional reduction in water by all provinces during periods of shortage and market mechanisms that allow unrestricted water transfers rank highly as top two appropriation systems. Even modest shortages can significantly increase the shadow price of water and their developed framework can be readily extended to irrigation-dependent economies in other developing and under-developed nations. I chose to focus on social science-related papers for this editorial to not only highlight the importance of socioeconomic aspects of water but also to help narrow down the number of papers to choose from. Even then, the final selection was not easy and many deserving social science papers had to be left out. My emphasis on social science also precluded me from highlighting many other innovative, multidisciplinary scientific and technical papers published during the decade of 2005–2014. The decade has several featured collections related to transboundary water issues, emerging contaminants, use of satellite remote sensing for water management and other water management and water quality issues. Many papers pushed the frontiers of using geographic information systems (GIS) in water resources planning and management. The period also saw a growth in the number of papers addressing issues outside of the U.S. (perhaps a benefit of the journal moving to Wiley and thus getting greater exposure worldwide). Social issues of water are complex and even the small sampling of 10 papers I selected here show diversity in terms of methods used, problems tackled, and integration of social science with various technical dimensions of water. JAWRA has been an important forum for dealing with sociotechnical aspects of water and I encourage you to look at other papers that have helped shaped the stakeholder-driven management and public discourse of water issues.

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