Community collaboration and restriction of use for the control of invasive threats in multipurpose reservoirs.

摘要

The global impact of the declining quality of fresh water supplies has major implications for the sustainability of communities and societies. Yet little is known about how collaborative management of public water resources can be achieved. This quantitative, descriptive study addressed a gap in research about community members' perceptions of collaboration in management of surface sources of drinking water. Research questions investigated community members' perceptions of community collaboration and barriers to collaboration, and explored demographic differences in these perceptions. Respondents completed a mail survey about community collaboration in managing Varnum Pond, a public water source in Wilton, Maine. Data were analyzed using factor analysis, Pearson and Spearman correlations, t-tests, and ANOVAs. The results have broad implications for collaboration and grassroots organizations. While respondents recognized the importance of community collaboration, they felt it was a necessary but insufficient condition for sustainability. Respondents identified several barriers to collaboration including little encouragement by resource managers to participate in resource management, and limited information necessary for community involvement and decision making. Results also indicate that users of public water for drinking perceived greater barriers to collaboration than nonusers. These findings argue for greater outreach to community members by water system managers, including involving key informants, educating residents about the resource, and building a base of informed citizens. An important implication for social change in this study is that public resource managers of all types now have an empirical basis on which to determine the appropriate methods of involving community members in water system management.