The Meaning of Water (review)

Veronica Strang's 'The Meaning of Water' analyses water conflicts in complex political environments. Her approach is novel - an anthropological view, arguing that water tensions have their roots in history and the complex interdependencies unfolding over time. Hence the need to exercise extreme caution in the rush to commodify this 'essence of all life', as that might create serious social, cultural and moral dilemmas.

In keeping with her anthropological roots, Strang treats the whole gamut of human-water relationship in a context of ever-changing social, political and spatial arrangements. Hence Part I, 'Cultural Landscapes' offers a historical narrative of how the Stour Valley's material culture (of water ownership and management), also mirrors the social and political conditions of their time. Part II, 'Under Water', explores the metaphorical use of water imagery in the construction of ideas about self and also models the relationships between individuals and their social and material environments. Part III, 'Hydrolatry and Hydrology' looks at how water imagery plays a central role in both religious and secular cosmological models, creating coherent undercurrents in both. Part IV 'Owning Water' examines the public response to the privatization of water in the UK; Part V 'Managing Water' looks at local groups in Dorest and their direct involvement in river management and water conservation. The same reveals how this has enabled the local population to regain some degree of common ownership over water. Part VI, 'contraflows' focuses on how contemporary socio-political arrangements impact upon patterns of domestic water usage as well as government and industry responses to evaluations of water quality. Finally, the conclusion summarises the findings and considers their long-term social and environmental implications. In suggesting a concluding perspective on water ownership and management, the author readily acknowledges that communal arrangements of the past cannot be feasibly replicated in today's technological and demographic reality. However, the current cynicism surrounding public - private partnerships is also understandable, stemming primarily from the frequent tendency to unload costly infrastructure upgrading onto the public sector while retaining profitable operational aspects for the private. A more palatable solution might be to reconsider public ownership in some form, perhaps replacing a private water utility with a semi-mutualised, non-profit organisation.

In sum, Professor Strang draws upon a wide variety of sources - ethnographic research, cultural mapping, local archives, folklore, etc., to explore and explain the controversies surrounding water ownership and management. The scope of the study is very broad, but held together by the author's skill and judicious passion for the issue at hand. The topical nature of the issues discussed, makes this book a must read for anyone with an interest in contemporary research on water.