Water Online

July 2016

Water Innovations gives Water and Wastewater Engineers and end-users a venue to find project solutions and source valuable product information. We aim to educate the engineering and operations community on important issues and trends.

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By Rebecca Wodder I n New Orleans, a devastated neighborhood seeks to revive their community after Hurricane Katrina. They begin by regaining access to a bayou where earlier generations hunted and fished. In Toledo, OH, 400,000 people go without drinking water for two days, due to a toxic algal bloom brought on by water pollution and high temperatures. In response, low-income residents work together on green infrastructure projects that can reduce polluted runoff while improving property values. In Fredericksburg, VA, a historic community comes together to protect their river from development and pollution. Working collaboratively with builders, a low-impact development ordinance is unanimously adopted and a new riverside trail becomes a place where residents connect with each other and with nature. In Portland, OR, a watershed association unites urban, suburban, and rural neighbors in support of creek restoration projects that reduce frequent episodes of flooding and restore salmon habitat. As these examples show, water is a ready source of common cause. Neighbors come together to defend against floods, droughts, and water pollution and to obtain the quality-of-life benefits of being near, on, or in, clean, sparkling water. There is a vital lesson here for freshwater organizations and agencies. Projects to build natural capital in the form of protected or restored rivers, wetlands, watersheds, and green infrastructure that mimics the natural water cycle can also build social capital, in the form of trust, collaborative skills, and shared values. In return, social capital can strengthen and sustain freshwater natural capital. The synergistic role of freshwater in building natural and social capital becomes increasingly important in a changing climate. Since most of the ways in which Americans experience climate change are connected to the hydrological cycle, freshwater organizations and agencies can make important contributions to help communities and regions become more resilient to extreme weather events. Yet, too often, freshwater conservation strategies focus solely on protecting, restoring, and replicating natural hydrological functions. But, social capital is also extremely important to community resilience. A recent report finds that "promoting social cohesion — in which a society's members cooperate to achieve shared well-being — in communities is an additional and overlooked tool for strengthening climate resilience, with particularly good outcomes in low-income communities." 1 Restorative Power Social capital improves freshwater plans and projects, thanks to the knowledge and support provided by engaged local residents. The resulting freshwater assets can then be monitored and maintained by involved neighbors whose collective efforts to rescue a local stream or protect a watershed reinforce social capital by delivering results that people can see, touch, and feel. Shared success builds community pride and reinforces the value of learning to work together. In his classic book, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Robert Putnam details four features of social capital that enable people to work together on a common cause. First, "social capital allows citizens to resolve collective problems more easily." Second, it "greases the wheels that allow communities to advance smoothly." Third, it "widen[s] our awareness of many ways in which our fates are linked." And fourth, social networks act "as conduits for the flow of helpful information to achieve common goals." 2 Experts distinguish between two types of social capital, bonding and bridging. Bonding social capital exists within a homogeneous community, while bridging develops between dissimilar communities. Putnam puts it memorably: "Bonding social capital constitutes a kind of sociological superglue, whereas bridging social capital provides a sociological WD-40." 3 Communities that invest in both bonding and bridging social capital are better at solving large, complex problems like climate change. 4 Successful collective efforts require trust, shared values and norms, and social networks. Trust is most important and depends on equity and fairness. 5 But social capital is undermined by poverty, inequality, and environmental injustice. Freshwater initiatives to benefit the most vulnerable communities should be especially careful to prioritize both natural and social capital in their design and execution. Freshwater nonprofit and government agencies are well-equipped to do so. These organizations are trusted 32 wateronline.com n Water Innovations A Community Approach To Climate Resilience How to accumulate and leverage social capital to achieve healthy freshwater ecosystems, green infrastructure improvements, and triple-bottom-line benefits

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