Pasts and Presents of Urban Socio-Hydrogeology: Groundwater Levels in Berlin, 1870–2020

Although it is self-evident that today’s groundwater issues have a history that frames both problems and responses, these histories have received scant attention in the socio-hydrogeological literature to date. This paper aims to enrich the field of socio-hydrogeology with a novel, historical perspective on groundwater management whilst simultaneously demonstrating the value to water history of engaging with groundwater. This is achieved by applying hydrogeological, socio-hydrogeological, and historical methods in an interdisciplinary and collaborative research process while analysing a case study of urban groundwater management over a 150-year period. In the German capital Berlin, local aquifers have always been central to its water supply and, being close to the surface, have made for intricate interactions between urban development and groundwater levels. The paper describes oscillations in groundwater levels across Berlin’s turbulent history and the meanings attached to them. It demonstrates the value to socio-hydrogeology of viewing the history of groundwater through a socio-material lens and to urban history of paying greater attention to subsurface water resources. The invisibility and inscrutability associated with groundwater should not discourage attention, but rather incite curiosity into this underexplored realm of the subterranean city, inspiring scholars and practitioners well beyond the confines of hydrogeology.

Drinking water quality and trust : communities and risk information

Ontario drinking water systems face increasing contamination risks due to over-taxed water systems. Canadian perceptions of drinking water, and trust in government, have declined as a result of Walkerton and other contamination episodes. Research in the field of trust, risk communication and risk perception has developed extensively in recent years. However, there is very little research regarding risk perception, communication and trust as it relates to drinking water. This study investigated drinking water perceptions, trust in drinking water authorities and communication needs of a small Ontario municipality with a positive drinking water history and good communication practices. The results indicated that the community members had positive perceptions about their source and drinking water. They had high levels of trust in their local government and low levels of trust in outside sources. Despite the high levels of trust in the local government, the residents displayed additional information needs; suggesting the presence of critical trust.

Drinking water quality and trust : communities and risk information

Ontario drinking water systems face increasing contamination risks due to over-taxed water systems. Canadian perceptions of drinking water, and trust in government, have declined as a result of Walkerton and other contamination episodes. Research in the field of trust, risk communication and risk perception has developed extensively in recent years. However, there is very little research regarding risk perception, communication and trust as it relates to drinking water. This study investigated drinking water perceptions, trust in drinking water authorities and communication needs of a small Ontario municipality with a positive drinking water history and good communication practices. The results indicated that the community members had positive perceptions about their source and drinking water. They had high levels of trust in their local government and low levels of trust in outside sources. Despite the high levels of trust in the local government, the residents displayed additional information needs; suggesting the presence of critical trust.

A museum that travels: Yaku Viajero and citizen education on Guayllabamba social basin in Quito, Ecuador (South America)

Yaku Viajero is a travelling exhibition created by the Yaku Water Museum in Quito, Ecuador that aims to raise awareness among citizens about the importance of water conservation for the city and the world. It deals with five topics: water history in Quito, water quality, the right to water according to the constitution of Ecuador, Water Footprint and the social and hydrographic basin of the Guayllabamba, which provides water to the city of Quito, capital of Ecuador. This chapter describes in depth how the concept of the social basin is applied through educational and museographic resources and how it aims to promote the development of empathy as a fundamental basis of citizenship education.

What’s on tap? Comparison of beer served in London and Philadelphia

This study provided empirical evidence to the cultural similarities and differences between craft beer served in London, England and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The tourism industry has seen an enormous growth in travelers spending recreational time visiting breweries to learn about the history, the location, the process and the ingredients that go into their drinks. Craft beer styles have emerged because of local water, history, technology and culture. People sample local beers as an important aspect of their travels. This study recorded the number of tap lines, the style of beer, and the alcohol and bitterness measurements for every establishment within three miles of each city’s center. Overall, every style of beer was lower in alcohol and less bitter in London than in Philadelphia with the exception of pale ales and lagers. Both locations had over fifty different beer styles available to customers but most commonly served the same beer styles, with IPA being the most prevalent. London served more pale ales and Philadelphia served more lagers, suggesting that despite the modern resurgence of craft beer, historical cultural traditions still influence customer preferences.

Water and national identity in the Netherlands; the history of an idea

According to a popular Dutch theory, water has shaped the Dutch national identity. The Dutch fight against the water would have stimulated perseverance, ingenuity, cooperation and an egalitarian and democratic society. Despite the long water management history of the Netherlands, water became an important part of the self-images of the nation only in the eighteenth Century. In the 1780s the idea that the Dutch had wrung their country from the sea became popular. Initially, this idea was especially popular among the (proto-)liberal opposition, who emphasised the importance of the nation and its achievements. By the end of the nineteenth Century, water had become a national symbol for orthodox Calvinists, Roman Catholics and Socialists too, despite their different views on the nation. Whenever there was fast social change, political turmoil or external threats, as in the late eighteenth Century, the 1930s and 1940s and since the 1990s, the link between water and the Netherlands was used to promote national pride and unity and stimulate action. This link has also been used to promote specific hydraulic works, but it is a topic for further research how widespread and effective this practice was. As this paper is part of a special issue, Water History in the time of COVID-19, it has undergone modified peer review.

The Surco canal, an ancient irrigation canal in Lima, Peru, and a citizens’ campaign for its protection

The present text discusses a number of pre-Hispanic irrigation canals in Lima, the Peruvian capital, often considered as the second largest city built on a desert. Some of the original canals are still in use but given that most have been excluded from official urban narratives, citizens are not aware of them and the role they still play in the city. A brief description of Lima’s canals through the ages is provided, including present day management and the risks affecting them. This paper focuses on the Surco canal and a citizens’ campaign carried out between 2016 and 2018 to raise awareness about it. The impact the campaign has had on the wider city is discussed. A general overview of the cultural context in which pre-Hispanic issues have historically been considered in Lima and how this campaign also tried to address them is included as well. As this paper is part of a special issue, Water History in the time of COVID-19, it has undergone modified peer review.

A complicated way of boiling water: nuclear safety in water history

Water and nuclear reactors are much closer intertwined than usually perceived. First, water is the source of the steam that drives the turbines of most nuclear power plants around the world. Next to generating electricity, water is the key to preventing accidents in nuclear plants. As uranium keeps on generating heat when the power plant is turned off, its core needs to be cooled continuously. This crucial connection between water and nuclear is focus of the paper. Nuclear safety will appear as relying heavily on earlier knowledge, institutions, and regulatory frameworks, which were related to water. The three parts of this article discuss technologies, actors and risks of nuclear power. Studying water as a resource in a much broader sense than being boiled for steam shows how determining water is to make nuclear power function. As this paper is part of a special issue, Water History in the time of COVID-19, it has undergone modified peer review.