“We need more data”! The politics of scientific information for water governance in the context of hydraulic fracturing

Proposed and actual developments of hydraulic fracturing, as a high-volume water user, have proven contentious in recent years. However, one point of agreement has emerged amongst all actors with regards to water use and hydraulic fracturing: we need more data. This consensus fits with a longstandin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inWater alternatives Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 142 - 162
Main Authors Michele-Lee, Moore, Karena Shaw and Heather Castleden
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Montpellier Water Alternatives Association 01.02.2018
Subjects
accountability
Canada
Data
Data collection
Data management
Governance
Hydraulic fracturing
Indigenous knowledge
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous Peoples' knowledge
Knowledge management
Literature reviews
Neoliberalism
Reification
science policy
Transparency
Transparency (optical)
Two-Eyed Seeing
Water consumption
Water governance
Water policy
Water resources management
Water use
Canada
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Summary:Proposed and actual developments of hydraulic fracturing, as a high-volume water user, have proven contentious in recent years. However, one point of agreement has emerged amongst all actors with regards to water use and hydraulic fracturing: we need more data. This consensus fits with a longstanding reification of the role of data in water governance, and yet we argue it hides a politically contested terrain. Based on a literature review, an empirical Delphi study and a workshop with a diverse array of participants from across Canada, we explore the data needs related to water governance and hydraulic fracturing. We then investigate three areas of deficiency that point to a lack of trust and oversight as well as the exclusion of community and Indigenous knowledge. We argue that in an era of neoliberal approaches to water governance, issues of trust, accountability and transparency all link back to a diminished role for data management within existing water governance arrangements. The challenge is that simply collecting more data will not help decision-makers navigate the complexity of water governance. Our findings suggest a growing call by participants for greater engagement by governments in data collection and knowledge management, new funding mechanisms for data collection and re-thinking how and what to monitor if including multiple ways of knowing and values.
ISSN:1965-0175
1965-0175