Naming, Framing, and Blaming: Exploring Ways of Knowing in the Deceptively Simple Question 'What is Water Quality?'.

Water quality is a persistent problem despite decades of regulation. Theory suggests that more successful outcomes may occur if the assumption of a shared definition of the problem is questioned. This study explores whether different definitions may arise out of diverse ways of knowing and the implications including this diversity may have for policymaking. Through semi-structured interviews and participant observation, this research documents the perspectives of experiential knowledge in a fishing community in North Carolina, academic knowledge in the scientific community, and political knowledge in the management community. Results show that beginning with definition, these perspectives differ in framing water quality issues, laying responsibility, and delineating potential solutions. Those who can communicate between knowledge groups emerged as a particularly important, yet shrinking, group in establishing trust. Efforts to solve water quality issues in the future would benefit by incorporating these perspectives and fostering boundary-spanning for a more comprehensive view of water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]