Exploring a regional approach in drinking water management in the Strait of Belle Isle, Newfoundland and Labrador

Chireh, Vincent Kuuteryiri (2018) Exploring a regional approach in drinking water management in the Strait of Belle Isle, Newfoundland and Labrador. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Multiple community collaboration to manage water supply systems among rural communities is fast gaining prominence in rural development literature. It is increasingly difficult for individual communities to provide safe and clean drinking water to their residents due to challenges such as the lack of human and financial capacity, degrading water infrastructure, and high capital investment cost for water infrastructure. This situation could be worsened by challenges typical of rural areas such as declining, aging populations, and the lack of economies of scale. Using a case study approach, my research looks at the prospects in adopting a regional approach to manage water supply systems, particularly with the Newfoundland and Labrador context. A regional approach is defined in this research as any form of collaboration or partnership motivated by common interests, needs or challenges, and permissible by geography to share water supply systems among neighboring communities to ensure clean and safe water supply. This study was situated in the Strait of Belle Isle region in the Great Northern Peninsula in Newfoundland. The study reveals some potentials in the case study region such as sufficient headwaters, the existence of clusters of communities, existing service-sharing initiatives, and the strong social capital that can support a regional water management approach. When these potentials are explored, a regional water system could help address the many water challenges in the region. However, there are noteworthy factors that could impede its implementation: the impacts of place-based dynamics, human and financial capacities, administrative disparities between various scales of communities, and the need for upper-level government’s support. Moreover, the findings illustrate that water researchers, governments, and communities need to consider and make provisions to incorporate these conditions when developing water policies that fully realize the benefits of a regional water management approach.

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