Problem Framing Influences Linkages Among Networks of Collective Action Situations for Water Provision, Wastewater, and Water Conservation in a Metropolitan Region

Collective action problems are linked together when the outcomes of one collective action situation affect the working components of another. In San Diego, California, solutions to the collective action dilemmas of water provisioning, conservation, and wastewater were found to have influenced each other between 1990 and 2010. Building upon a database of water management-related action situation outcomes, developed from archival documents and interviews with water managers, environmental groups, and other participants, we used McGinnis’ Network of Adjacent Action Situations framework and the Politicized IAD framework to analyze how the emergence of different problem frames affected linkages between these three collective action problems. Our research shows that newly introduced frames for thinking about these water management challenges as interconnected contributed to the progressive emergence of new governance strategies by different groups of actors.