Governance of the drinking water supply service: A case study of three Mexican communities

Governance theory emerged in the early 1990s. Since then, it has been seen as an approach to unveil the existing relationships in systems of management with two often-conflicting governing systems, namely formal and informal. Governance theory attempts to understand the implications of decisions made by formal and informal institutions in order to find suitable ways of management. The theoretical problem this thesis responds to embraces water institutions governing and managing the DWSS. This thesis contributes to conceptualise drinking water governance as the rules, decision making and the plurality of actors interacting to provide the DWSS and recognising customary water institutions and authorities in the management, operation and maintenance of the DWSS at community level. This research uses the concept of governance defined by Chhotray and Stoker (2009: 3) as ‘the rules that guide collective decision-making in settings where there are a plurality of actors or organisations’. This concept is systematically applied in an analytical framework taking into account three main components of governance namely rules, collective decision-making, and plurality of actors to analyse water governance with a focus on the drinking water supply service (DWSS) in three peri-urban communities in Mexico’s central highlands: San Mateo, San Francisco and Santiaguito. The principal research question this thesis aims to answer is how do customarilyorganised institutions address water governance to manage the DWSS at community level? Using qualitative methods and techniques this research explores the interactions between formal and informal institutions and actors when managing drinking water at community level. Informal institutions and actors are water committees, water vendors, and domestic water users. Formal institutions are decentralised water institution and well proprietors. This research highlights the importance of legal plural institutions involvement in the governance and management of drinking water and its interaction at community level. This thesis contributes to better understanding of rules, decision making and the plurality of actors interacting within the governance and management of the DWSS. It highlights the importance of the legal plural institutions involved in the governance and management of water and the way in which they are legitimised either by formal or informal institutions. This thesis also contributes to recognising customary water institutions in the governance of water resources. I approach water governance and analyse society participation, water markets and customary and official institutions involved in the DWSS provision. Theoretical insights are also provided into the on-going dynamic of drinking water access by domestic water users and actors. Finally, the thesis is also rich in contributing with substantial empirical information collected through semi-structured interviews, deep interviews, focus groups, observation and informal talks with domestic water users and vendors.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of East Anglia

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• Becerril Tinoco, Citlalli

Language dc:language

en