Operating in the shadowland

Why water utilities fail to manage decaying infrastructure

Bibliographic Data

ID12246730
AuthorsAmelie Bennich (0000-0001-7404-432X, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, corresponding author), Mats Engwall (0000-0001-9277-0288, KTH Royal Institute of Technology), David Nilsson (0000-0003-0205-2843)
Year2023
Volume82
Pages101557-101557
Publication date2023-05-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueUtilities Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0957-1787 • E-ISSN: 1878-4356
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jup.2023.101557
OpenAlexW4381732676
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited43

Decaying water infrastructure is a growing challenge in high-income countries while at the same time being under pressure from other socioeconomic and environmental issues. This paper analyses why addressing these challenges is so challenging, despite the critical role of water service for society. The paper is based on a study of the Swedish water sector and reveals how the utilities are influenced by several factors that constrain their agency. Most importantly, the utilities operate in a ‘societal shadowland’ where the public and politicians take their services for granted, lowering the sense of urgency and impeding their ability to take action

Action (physics · Agency (philosophy · Business · Computer security · Critical infrastructure · Economics · Environmental economics · Natural resource economics · Public economics · Service (business · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Water industry · Water infrastructure · Water sector · Water supply · Water utility · Computer Science · Engineering · Water Governance and Infrastructure · Water resources management and optimization · Environmental Engineering · Marketing

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