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How water quality improvement efforts influence urban–agricultural relationships

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Sarah P. Church at Montana State University
Sarah P. Church
Kristin M. Floress
Kristin M. Floress
Kristin M. Floress
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Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad at Utah State University
Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad
Chloe Wardropper at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Chloe Wardropper
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Abstract

Urban and agricultural communities are interdependent but often differ on approaches for improving water quality impaired by nutrient runoff waterbodies worldwide. Current water quality governance involves an overlapping array of policy tools implemented by governments, civil society organizations, and corporate supply chains. The choice of regulatory and voluntary tools is likely to influence many dimensions of the relationship between urban and agricultural actors. These relationships then influence future conditions for collective decision-making since many actors participate for multiple years in water quality improvement. In this policy analysis, we draw on our professional experiences and research, as well as academic and practitioner literatures, to investigate how different types of water quality interventions influence urban-agricultural relationships, specifically examining policy tools on a regulatory to voluntary spectrum. Interactions between farmers and other rural agricultural interests on one hand, and urban residents and their stormwater managers and wastewater treatment plants on the other, influence dynamics relevant for water quality improvement. We suggest that the selection of policy tools within complex governance contexts influence urban–agricultural relationships through financial exchange, political coalitions, knowledge exchange, interpersonal relationships, and shared sense of place. Policy tools that provide a means to build relationships and engage with people’s emotions and identities have potential to influence personal and community change and adaptive capacity, while processes such as lawsuits can catalyze structural change. Engaging these relationships is particularly critical given the need to move out of polarized positions to solve collective problems.
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Vol.:(0123456789)
1 3
Agriculture and Human Values (2021) 38:481–498
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-020-10177-8
How water quality improvement efforts influence urban–agricultural
relationships
SarahP.Church1 · KristinM.Floress2· JessicaD.Ulrich‑Schad3· ChloeB.Wardropper4· PranayRanjan5·
WestonM.Eaton6· StephenGasteyer7· AdenaRissman8
Accepted: 15 October 2020 / Published online: 20 October 2020
© Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract
Urban and agricultural communities are interdependent but often differ on approaches for improving water quality impaired
by nutrient runoff waterbodies worldwide. Current water quality governance involves an overlapping array of policy tools
implemented by governments, civil society organizations, and corporate supply chains. The choice of regulatory and volun-
tary tools is likely to influence many dimensions of the relationship between urban and agricultural actors. These relationships
then influence future conditions for collective decision-making since many actors participate for multiple years in water
quality improvement. In this policy analysis, we draw on our professional experiences and research, as well as academic
and practitioner literatures, to investigate how different types of water quality interventions influence urban-agricultural
relationships, specifically examining policy tools on a regulatory to voluntary spectrum. Interactions between farmers and
other rural agricultural interests on one hand, and urban residents and their stormwater managers and wastewater treatment
plants on the other, influence dynamics relevant for water quality improvement. We suggest that the selection of policy
tools within complex governance contexts influence urban–agricultural relationships through financial exchange, political
coalitions, knowledge exchange, interpersonal relationships, and shared sense of place. Policy tools that provide a means
to build relationships and engage with people’s emotions and identities have potential to influence personal and community
change and adaptive capacity, while processes such as lawsuits can catalyze structural change. Engaging these relationships
is particularly critical given the need to move out of polarized positions to solve collective problems.
Keywords Water quality policy· Regulatory and voluntary approaches· Urban–rural divide· Agriculture· Collaboration
Abbreviations
BMP Best management practice
CWA Clean Water Act
OECD Organization on Economic Cooperation and
Development
NPS Nonpoint source pollution
EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System
TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load
DMWW Des Moines Water Works
WLEB Western lake erie basin
EQIP Environmental Quality Incentives Program
CSP Conservation Stewardship Program
CRP Conservation Reserve Program
MAEAP Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assur-
ance Program
Introduction
Watershed health is a community endeavor, where the
actions of people and organizations with different land use
priorities (e.g., residential, agricultural, industrial) influence
the health of the entire system (City of Portland 2005; Elzu-
fon 2015; NYS 2009). Many urban areas in the U.S. have
worked to improve water quality by implementing stormwa-
ter best management practices (BMPs), such as bioswales or
pervious pavement, that reduce the amount of stormwater
entering the sanitation system while also filtering pollutants
(EPA 2010). Homeowners in rural and urban places have
taken individual and collective action to change behavior
(e.g., use less fertilizer on lawns) or implement BMPs on
* Sarah P. Church
sarah.church@montana.edu
Extended author information available on the last page of the article
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... Previous literature suggests that the rural-urban divide may be especially relevant for agricultural policy. For example, European societies have been found to increasingly focus on environmental goals vis-à-vis economic goals related to agriculture: the economic relevance of the agricultural sector has decreased, fewer people work in agriculture, and recreational and leisure purposes for rural land use have become more relevant (Butt, 2013;Cabot et al., 2004;Church et al., 2020;Smithers et al., 2005). In contrast, rural populations are closely linked to farming in economic and social dimensions, not only through employment in the agri-food sector but also because agriculture provides open and attractive landscapes for the tourism sector, which is, for example, the main economic activity in Swiss mountainous regions (Jeangros & Thomet, 2004;Schüpach et al., 2004). ...
... In contrast, rural populations are closely linked to farming in economic and social dimensions, not only through employment in the agri-food sector but also because agriculture provides open and attractive landscapes for the tourism sector, which is, for example, the main economic activity in Swiss mountainous regions (Jeangros & Thomet, 2004;Schüpach et al., 2004). According to Church et al. (2020), the urban majority (whose livelihood does not depend on agriculture) may thus impose its values and the resulting political measures on the rural minority. While some studies assessed agricultural policy preferences of different stakeholder groups and found differences between farmers and citizens (Ahtiainen et al., 2015), only a few studies have examined rural-urban divides in the field of agricultural policy. ...
... A better understanding of a potential rural-urban divide in perceptions of and support for agricultural policy goals will help policymakers develop instruments that gain broad acceptance and enable the implementation of much-needed policy reforms to increase the sustainability of agricultural production. Considering the potential rural-urban relationship in the formulation of policy goals is particularly important to overcome polarizing positions and solve collective problems, such as environmental pollution from agricultural production (Church et al., 2020). ...
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