Water is the most valuable resource and the most passionately contested. Drought has become an increasingly extreme problem in many parts of the world, and it is predicted that 60% of the major cities in Europe will run short of water in the next decade. In industrialized countries per capita water usage continues to rise intractably, despite strenuous efforts by environmentalists and resource managers to encourage conservation. Conflicts over water and environmental degradation from the overuse of resources are intensifying. Water is not merely a physical resource: in every cultural context it is densely encoded with social, spiritual, political and environmental meanings, and these have a powerful effect upon patterns of water use and upon the relationships between water users and suppliers. This book makes an in-depth analysis of the meanings of water and considers how they are experienced and formed at an individual and societal level. Focusing on the River Stour in Dorset, Strang draws upon a wide range of data: ethnographic research, cultural mapping, local archives and folklore. She explores the controversies surrounding water ownership and management, and the social and political questions raised by water privatization in the UK. The topical nature of these issues and their global relevance make this book a vital contribution to contemporary research on water and an essential read for anyone with an interest in getting under the surface of one of the worlds most important social and environmental issues.

'This is a significant book and should be required reading for scientists and engineers entering the wonderful world of water . It provides an important contribution to our understanding of the significance of water resources to human welfare.'Anthropolgical Forum'Veronica Strang's book, The Meaning of Water, carries a message thatneeds to be heard by politicians and policy makers throughout the capitalist world. As the essence of all life, water is sacred, and its control by external profit-making agencies is a violation. By locating her analysis in an enthnography of water, Strang goes on to show how the inexorable drive to commodify everything that people need and useis fundamentally at odds with some of our most deeply held cultural values. Like all the best social scientific research, Strangs work points to what is most wrong, and what is most in need of change'. Kay Milton, Queen's University Belfast 'The author's plea that conflicts over water resources might be re

Veronica Strang is Professor of Social Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, University of Auckland.