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Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., 10,Hydrology 7517–7536, 2013and Hydrology and www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci-discuss.net/10/7517/2013/ Earth System doi:10.5194/hessd-10-7517-2013 Earth System HESSD Sciences Sciences © Author(s) 2013. CC Attribution 3.0 License. 10, 7517–7536, 2013 Discussions Open Access Open Access Ocean Science This discussion paper is/hasOcean been under Science review for the journal Hydrology and Earth System Reconstructing the Sciences (HESS). Please refer to the corresponding final paper in HESS if available.Discussions duty of water: a study of emergent norms in Open Access Open Access socio-hydrology Solid Earth Solid Earth Discussions J. L. Wescoat Jr. Reconstructing the dutyOpen Access of water: a studyOpen Access Title Page of emergentThe norms Cryosphere in socio-hydrologyThe Cryosphere Discussions Abstract Introduction J. L. Wescoat Jr. Conclusions References Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Tables Figures Received: 27 May 2013 – Accepted: 28 May 2013 – Published: 14 June 2013 Correspondence to: J. L. Wescoat Jr. ([email protected]) J I Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. J I Back Close Full Screen / Esc Printer-friendly Version Interactive Discussion 7517 Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Abstract HESSD This paper assesses changing norms of water use known as the duty of water. It is a case study in historical socio-hydrology, a line of research useful for anticipating 10, 7517–7536, 2013 changing social values with respect to water. The duty of water is currently defined as 5 the amount of water reasonably required to irrigate a substantial crop with careful man- Reconstructing the agement and without waste on a given tract of land. The historical section of the paper duty of water: a study traces this concept back to late-18th century analysis of steam engine efficiencies for of emergent norms in mine dewatering in Britain. A half-century later, British irrigation engineers fundamen- socio-hydrology tally altered the concept of duty to plan large-scale canal irrigation systems in northern 10 India at an average duty of 218 acres per cubic foot per second (cfs). They justified J. L. Wescoat Jr. this extensive irrigation standard (i.e., low water application rate over large areas) with a suite of social values that linked famine prevention with revenue generation and ter- ritorial control. Several decades later irrigation engineers in the western US adapted Title Page the duty of water concept to a different socio-hydrologic system and norms, using it to Abstract Introduction 15 establish minimum standards for water rights appropriation (e.g., only 40 to 80 acres per cfs). The final section shows that while the duty of water concept has now been Conclusions References eclipsed by other measures and standards of water efficiency, it may have continuing Tables Figures relevance for anticipating if not predicting emerging social values with respect to water. J I 1 Problem statement J I 20 In a doctoral qualifying exam, an older faculty member asked the candidate to discuss Back Close the duty of water concept in irrigation, to which the candidate briefly replied that while th it had been an important standard for application rates in the early 20 century, it had Full Screen / Esc been replaced by more precise standards of water use efficiency. While accurate, my answer at that time stopped short of considering how and why these water norms have Printer-friendly Version 25 changed over time, and whether such changes can be anticipated if not predicted. Nor Interactive Discussion 7518 Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | did I reflect on why the word duty was used, or what connotations it has had, past and present? This paper strives to answer these questions. HESSD The duty of water concept is still used in some irrigated regions to establish stan- 10, 7517–7536, 2013 dards of water use. An influential judicial opinion defined it as: 5 “. that measure of water which, by careful management and without wastage, is reasonably required to be applied to any given tract of land for such a period of time as Reconstructing the may be adequate to produce therefrom a maximum amount of such crops as ordinarily duty of water: a study are grown thereon” (State of Colorado Supreme Court, Farmers Highline Canal & Res of emergent norms in Co. v. City of Golden, 272 p. 2d 629, 129 Colo. 575, 1954). socio-hydrology 10 There are many interesting phrases in this definition: “careful management”, “with- out wastage”, “reasonably required”, “adequate”, “maximum amount”, and “ordinarily J. L. Wescoat Jr. grown”. These terms have normative as well as analytical significance insofar as they refer to: Title Page – ordinary practices (i.e., normal water use) Abstract Introduction 15 – standards (i.e., measurable expectations for normal water practices) Conclusions References – values (i.e., ascription of instrumental, inherent, and intrinsic water benefits) Tables Figures – justifications (i.e., reasons for water values, standards, and practices). Collectively, these normative dimensions of water use help link observations with ex- J I pectations. In addition to understanding how they operate in specific places today, it is J I 20 important to reconstruct how they have developed over time, in ways that have shaped and addressed current water problems. Approached in an historical way, water chal- Back Close lenges can be understood in dynamic terms, i.e., less in terms of established norms, Full Screen / Esc and more in terms of emergent norms. The historical geography of water norms can help anticipate if not predict future norms, which can help extend prediction toward the Printer-friendly Version 25 social as well as hydrologic bases of water management. Interactive Discussion 7519 Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | 2 A socio-hydrologic framework for analysis HESSD Rather than treat social and hydrologic dimensions of water management separately, this paper adopts a socio-hydrologic framework for analyzing the duty of water. Socio- 10, 7517–7536, 2013 hydrology is an emerging field of water inquiry analogous to the field of eco-hydrology 5 (e.g., Eagleson, 2005). It is defined by Sivapalan et al. (2012) as the co-evolution or Reconstructing the co-production of water-society relationships in time and space. Co-evolution is charac- duty of water: a study terized by emergent properties in social and hydrologic systems, the focus of which in of emergent norms in this paper are emergent water norms (cf. Falkenmark and Folke, 2010; Gerlak et al., socio-hydrology 2011). 10 Sivapalan et al. (2012) identified three main lines of socio-hydrologic research: J. L. Wescoat Jr. (1) historical; (2) comparative; and (3) process-focused. This paper pursues the first category of historical socio-hydrology, which strives to offer a longitudinal perspective on water norms, and thereby stimulate ideas about future management alternatives. Title Page When approached critically, historical socio-hydrology can complement scenario con- Abstract Introduction 15 struction and water demand forecasting. Glantz (1988) referred to this as forecasting by analogy, in which societies construct analogies about possible futures and assess Conclusions References their preparedness to meet them (cf. Meyer et al., 1998; Wescoat, 1992). Tables Figures With this brief explication of the historical socio-hydrology framework in mind, the next section retraces the origins of the duty of water concept back to steam engine J I 20 performance in late-18th century Britain. The paper will then follow its evolving applica- tions in canal irrigation in colonial India, the American West, and contemporary water J I ethics. Back Close 3 Origins of the duty concept Full Screen / Esc The concept of duty has an ancient history (Cicero, 1991), but as a measure of water- Printer-friendly Version 25 related efficiency, it can be traced back to late-18th century steam engine technolo- gies in Britain. James Watt used the term duty to compare his patented steam en- Interactive Discussion 7520 Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | gine performances with competing engines for mine dewatering in Cornwall (Nuvolari and Verspagen, 2007). From Roman times mines had employed chains of buckets HESSD drawn by geared water-lifting technologies, later known in Europe