Ertsen, Maurits W

Hoag, Heather J

English

University of San Francisco

The University of San FranciscoUSF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library |Geschke CenterHistory College of Arts and Sciences2011Editorial Issue 1 Volume 3, 2011 [for WaterHistory]Maurits W. ErtsenHeather J. HoagUniversity of San Francisco, hjhoag@usfca.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://repository.usfca.edu/histPart of the History CommonsThis Editorial is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Arts and Sciences at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library| Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in History by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ GleesonLibrary | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact repository@usfca.edu.Recommended CitationMaurits W. Ertsen, Heather J. Hoag. Editorial Issue 1 Volume 3, 2011. Water History February 2011, Volume 3, Issue 1, pp 1-2. DOI:10.1007/s12685-011-0033-8Editorial Issue 1 Volume 3, 2011Maurits W. Ertsen • Heather J. HoagReceived: 21 March 2011 / Accepted: 21 March 2011 / Published online: 3 April 2011 The Author(s) 2011. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com2011 promises to be an exciting year for Water History. Since our inception in 2009, wehave produced two issues a year. With interest in the journal and field of water studiescontinuing to grow, we plan to publish three issues this year.This issue continues our journey across space (northern Spain, Finland, South Africa,and the American Southwest) and time (12th century to the present). While the articlesemploy a range of approaches, methods, and sources, they all show the value of histori-cizing current debates on water management. As politicians, economists, water managers,and users debate the best way to address issues of equitable and effective distribution,economic and environmental costs, and increasing demands, drawing upon past experienceis more important than ever.The opening article by Christopher Gerrard examines technologies of water capture,storage, and distribution in northeastern Spain beginning in the Middle Ages. Gerrard usesboth contemporary documents and archaeological fieldwork to explore allocation andadministration of water rights in the region. After the 12th century, new patterns of landownership and the Christian political administration influenced irrigation practice in theregion. Gerrard shows that although irrigators continued to make routine decisions abouttheir water system, they were no longer self-determining communities.The contribution of Harri Ma¨ki, Petri Juuti, and Rikka Rajala uses a comparativeframework to historicize debates about water privatization in the cities of Tampere, Fin-land and Johannesburg, South Africa. By examining the similarities and differences in theconstruction of private waterworks by Wilhelm von Nottbeck (Tampere) and SammyMarks (Johannesburg), the authors argue for the role of municipal governments in deci-sions about water supply. While the authors see a role for private capital, municipaloversight is needed to protect the public interest.Finally, April Summitt takes us to the American Southwest where contestation over theuse of the Colorado River continues. Summitt analyzes debates over the reallocation waterM. W. Ertsen (&)  H. J. HoagWater Resources/Water Management group, Department of Civil Engineering and Geosciences,Delft University of Technology, P. O. Box 5048, 2600 GA Delft, The Netherlandse-mail: m.w.ertsen@tudelft.nlURL: http://www.wrm.tudelft.nl123Water Hist (2011) 3:1–2DOI 10.1007/s12685-011-0033-8in light of the region’s continuing water shortages and increased population. She argues fora ‘‘middle ground between free markets and public trusts.’’ Her article reminds of thecontinuing power of rivers to shape life in arid regions.Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncom-mercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,provided the original author(s) and source are credited.2 M. W. Ertsen, H. J. Hoag123

Editorial Issue 1 Volume 3, 2011 [for Water History]

https://repository.usfca.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&amp;context=hist

Editorial Issue 1 Volume 3, 2011 [for Water History]

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

University of San Francisco