Bridges and Watersheds

During the last few decades, we have tended to examine only one dimension of the public/private divide, the collectivity dimension, equated with the nation state. By definition, when water management is provided by the nation state, it is termed "public." In daily discourse, however, systems such as those in England and Wales are termed "private" while the Dutch water management system is referred to as "public." Close examination, however, shows that England, Wales and the Netherlands all have a mix of public and private elements. Whereas England and Wales score high on visibility, the Dutch situation is more public on the dimension of collectivity.