Everyday governance of water in Karachi

Abstract (English)

Water and society are inextricably linked with each other. Water is neither purely natural, nor social, both are rather inseparable. Bakker (2002) explains , “Whereas H2O circulates through the hydrological cycle, water as a resource circulates through the hydrosocial cycle – a complex network of pipes, water law, meters, quality standards, garden hoses, consumers, [and] leaking taps”– in addition to the processes of rainfall, evaporation and runoff associated with the hydrological cycle (Bakker, 2002, p. 774). Water is in fact given meaning through cultural beliefs, historical memory, and social practices. It exists as much in discourse and symbolism as it does as a physical, material thing. If water is seen as only technical subject, it tends to hide power relations that are inherent in its production. The technical reports and policy documents that highlight the need for water management can blur the hydrosocial elements of water (see Li, 2007 as cited in Perrault 2014).
In my doctoral thesis, I use the conceptual framing of hydrosocial cycle to understand the everyday practices which shape water supply patterns that are unequal and fragmented for low income households. My PhD project is located in Lyari, Karachi’s most dense, low income, informally built settlement. I use anthropological methods to trace areas where water flows and where it doesn’t, as well as supply timings which are uncertain, often irregular. My interactions with water utility staff, local politicians, activists and residents spanning over eight months show that human-infrastructure relations particularly in informally built settings are highly complex, built upon the knowledge and practices of actors that are influential. Visiting water pumping stations, understanding how water supply schedules are negotiated by citizens, but also managed by machine operators when power supplies are cut highlight everyday infrastructure realities in global South contexts. This PhD project has found that knowledge is produced from ‘below’ in these spaces (where valves are located, where water lines are installed, pumping stations, etc). Preliminary findings suggest that it is the labour of citizens, valve men, machine operators, and their knowledge about where water lines are, where water pressures are high, where contamination occurs – all of which influences where water flows. It also matters who is from Lyari to be able to understand and run the system. Officials and engineers at higher levels who reside outside of Lyari are seen as ‘outsiders’ to the realities faced by the citizens of Lyari. This thesis brings forth the everyday politics and tactics that are deployed to navigate water infrastructures in a context of water rationing, and narratives of water scarcity.