According to the United Nations, two-thirds of the world's population, approximately 4 billion people, experiences water scarcity at least one month per year. To avoid the water quantity crisis experienced in many regions of the world and the United States, a path to sustainability must be forged. My research aims to identify and critique the salient features of the narrative that drives contemporary urban water decisions and practices and to provide a meta-narrative about the role of narratives as invisible lenses through which individuals see, interpret, and interact with the world often without realizing the existence of those frames. The purpose of this problem-oriented dissertation is twofold: to provide a philosophical policy analysis of contemporary water issues in the United States generally and North Central Texas in particular, and to offer a pragmatic and interdisciplinary approach to discovering a sustainable relationship to water. The intent of my research is not to produce a new metaphysical understanding of water, but to provide a pragmatic application of ideas that can be utilized in the field; ideas that can invoke a new narrative, vision, and direction for urban water issues in North Central Texas and in areas far beyond the Lone Star State. I begin my dissertation with an overview of the nature of the problems involved in managing our global and national water problems. To fully understand urban water issues requires more than just scientific knowledge, it also demands a philosophical orientation and grounding. Chapter 2 lays the philosophical foundation of my research by braiding the philosophical streams of thought inherent in Aldo Leopold's concepts of the land ethic and ecological conscience, Alfred North Whitehead and Maurice Merleau-Ponty's emphasis on relationship, Paulo Freire's pedagogy of critical consciousness, John Dewey's philosophy of experience and his perceived importance of the public and the "Great Community," and Hannah Arendt's theory of action. I argue that these tributaries of philosophical thought provide the foundation for creating a new urban water narrative. In Chapter 3, I provide an in-depth description of the water policy problem by delineating the historical context of water policy, supply, and management, exploring the rise of disciplinarity that resulted from the divergence of the humanities and science, explicating the partnership and dominator models of civilization, and investigating the impact of the cultural narrative on the decision-making process. Chapter 4 consists of my analysis of the current water policy problem through the lens of a case study of water issues in North Central Texas. I describe the key trends that have driven water practices in the region, examine the factors that have fostered those trends, and project what is likely to happen if the status quo approach to water is maintained. Chapter 5 presents my proposed alternative for resolving the current water quantity problem in North Central Texas. I philosophically evaluate the potential of my proposed alternative, a new urban water narrative, for ameliorating the problem and achieving the goal of a sustainable relationship to water. I elucidate the ways in which a new cultural narrative can surface and precipitate a new way of being in relationship with water. The last chapter recaps the previous chapters, acknowledges limitations of my research, and provides recommendations for future philosophical research endeavors into water policy, supply, and management that is relevant on a local, national, and global scale.

Cette thèse analyse les enjeux de la mise en œuvre de la politique de l'eau et de l'assainissement dans l'Aire métropolitaine de Buenos Aires (AMBA) au cours de la dernière décennie. Plus précisément, on étudie les scénarios de controverses et conflits qui ont conduit à l'émergence de nouveaux acteurs dans la région responsable de la gestion des ressources. La thèse est organisée en trois axes: l'institutionnelle, axée sur l'étude des modifications dans le scénario des acteurs en charge de la gestion de l'eau depuis la création de l'entreprise publique de l'eau et de l'assainissement AySA, et l'Autorité de Bassin Matanza- Riachuelo. L'environnement, consacré à analyser controverses générées par les différentes visions présentes par ces deux organismes et l'importance qui acquiert le regard de l'environnement à l'intérieur de la provision des services par rapport à la vision sanitaire traditionnelle du secteur. Et, la dimension socio-territorial qui vise à décrire l'accessibilité à l'eau et à l'assainissement dans la région, caractérisant les zones les plus touchées par le manque de service et les conflits qui émergent là, exigeant le droit à l'accès à l'eau?Pour répondre à ces dimensions on a choisi une stratégie méthodologique mixte qui permit combiner les sources et les approches qualitatives et les quantitatives. Nous avons principalement effectué des entretiens en profondeur à des fonctionnaires, des experts et des membres d'organisations sociales. Nous avons analysé la documentation technique sur les plans de œuvres, et nous avons utilisé des sources statistiques nationales pour étudier l'évolution de la couverture sur le territoire.L'hypothèse qui guide la recherche constate que, si bien que la création de ces deux organismes a produit une transformation dans la politique de l'eau et de l'assainissement à Buenos Aires, l'inertie du système de réseau centralisé et les limitations de la gestion territoriale de la part de l'autorité du bassin versant Matanza Riachuelo, limite la portée de cette transformation. / The thesis analyzes the challenges presented by the implementation of water and sanitation policy in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA) during the last decade (2006-2015). More precisely, it studies the scenarios of controversy and conflict that led to the appearance and raise of new actors in the region that became responsible for managing the resources.The thesis is organized in three dimensions: the institutional one, focused on studying the transformations in the framework of actors responsible for water management in the region, starting with the creation of the AySA drinking water and sanitation company and the Matanza Riachuelo Watershed Authority. The environmental, aimed at analyzing the controversies generated by the different visions present in the management of water through these two organisms and the weight that acquires the environmental view within the provision of the service against the traditional sanitary view of the sector. And the socio-territorial, which seeks to describe accessibility to water and sanitation in the region, characterizing the areas most affected by the lack of service and the conflicts that arise there, in claiming the right to water.To address these dimensions, we opted for a methodological strategy that complement qualitative and quantitative approaches and sources. We have conducted in-depth interviews with officials, academics and members of social organizations; We have analyzed technical documentation on the plans of works, and we have appealed to national statistical sources to study the evolution of the coverage in the territory.The hypothesis that guides the investigation indicates that although the creation of these two organisms implies a transformation in the politics of water and sanitation in Buenos Aires, the inertia of the centralized system of networks and the limitations in the territorial management of the basin authority , Crossed by the criminalization of the Riachuelo pollution, limit the scope of this transformation. / La tesis analiza los desafíos que presenta la implementación de la política del agua y saneamiento en el Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires durante la última década. Más precisamente estudia los escenarios de controversia y conflicto que supuso la aparición de nuevos actores en la región encargados del manejo del recurso.La tesis se organiza en tres dimensiones: la institucional, centrada en estudiar las transformaciones en el entramado de actores encargados del manejo del agua a partir de la creación de la empresa de agua potable y saneamiento AySA y la Autoridad de Cuenca Matanza Riachuelo. La ambiental, destinada a analizar las controversias generadas por las distintas visiones presentes en estos dos organismos y el peso que adquiere la mirada ambiental dentro de la provisión del servicio frente a la tradicional visión sanitarista del sector. Y la socio-territorial, que busca describir la accesibilidad al agua y saneamiento en la región, caracterizando las áreas más afectadas por la falta del servicio y los conflictos que allí emergen, en reclamo del derecho al agua.Para atender a estas dimensiones optamos por una estrategia metodológica que permita complementar fuentes y enfoques cualitativos y cuantitativos. Principalmente hemos realizado entrevistas en profundidad a funcionarios, académicos y miembros de organizaciones sociales; hemos analizado documentación técnica sobre los planes de obras, y hemos apelado a fuentes estadísticas nacionales para estudiar la evolución de la cobertura en el territorio. La hipótesis que guía la investigación señala que si bien la creación de estos dos organismos supone una transformación en la política del agua y saneamiento en Buenos Aires, la inercia del propio sistema centralizado de redes y las limitaciones en la gestión territorial de la autoridad de cuenca, atravesada por la judicialización de la contaminación del Riachuelo, limitan el alcance de dicha transformación.