Water as a Public Matter: Advancing Water Literacy

Even in countries long considered water-secure, challenges relating to water availability, water quality, and the consequences of increasingly extreme weather events such as droughts and heavy rainfall are now becoming evident. Together, these developments create the need for transformations across all levels of society. This generates new conflicts and calls for public debate. While public spheres are under pressure, we postulate that water literacy is required to manage these transformation tasks in a way that is consistent with sustainable development. We discuss the difficult conditions of today’s public sphere and contrast this with the perspective of a pragmatist understanding of democracy. Building on this perspective, we conclude by proposing theses toward an encompassing conception of water literacy.