1. Introduction
Water utility managers inmanyWestern European countries are
developing a stronger orientation on what was previously termed
‘the demand side’ of the water chain, which points to the beginning
of what Featherstone [1] has called a ‘consumerist turn’. In
the United Kingdom, in 2005–2006, UK Water Industry Research
(UKWIR) organized a series of workshops to reflect on trends in the
British water sector. Utility managers and social scientists together
discussed the role of water users vis-à-vis water service providers.
Questions addressed included whether water users could best be
conceived of as the consumers of commodities or as citizens entitled
to a public good. Should water managers share a responsibility
with end users for consumption practices as they tend to happen
‘downstream’,1 beyond the meter? And what about involving
citizen–consumers with upstream processes, making transparent
the costs involved with climate proofing? In the workshops, ways of
innovation, new products and viable strategies for the future were
discussed that would help to adequately deal with the consumerist
turn.