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As legal battles over surface water allocation in Klamath County, Oregon, USA have gained national attention, earning the name “Water Wars,” authorities have been increasingly turning to groundwater to compensate for water shortfalls. This case study aims to identify the nuanced perspectives of household groundwater well users who are affected by groundwater extraction. Using Q methodology, we uncover groundwater well users’ perceptions and to what extent they think water problems are dealt with fairly. We identify four water perspectives that differ in the degree to which respondents prioritize clean water accessibility, industry accountability, individual responsibility for water management, and trust in governments to manage water competently. This research contributes to the growing body of literature reshaping our understanding of human-water relations by exploring different water axiologies. 

ABSTRACT Environmental justice research has shown that people's experiences and perceptions of water differ because systematic inequalities shape the extent to which people access clean water and are exposed to water hazards. Q‐methodology is one technique that has been used to aggregate multifaceted subjective narratives and understand different perspectives on a topic. In this paper, we systematically review 77 case study articles applying Q‐methodology to water‐related topics, to inventory how people perceive their relationships with water. We create a classification system based on environmental justice theory to examine (1) distributive justice issues around alternative water sources and agricultural and urban water scarcity, (2) procedural justice issues around Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and trust; and (3) recognition justice issues regarding misrecognition, underrecognition, and the intersectionality of the environmental justice principles. Notably, only eight articles in our dataset found just two factors on a topic, with most finding three or more factors, suggesting that most audiences are not polarized or opposed in a binary sense but range along a spectrum of perspectives on water issues. This finding means water conflicts are complex, but also that people may share core water values on disputed topics. Learning from people from various backgrounds can provide an understanding of the different relationships people have with water, which can help water managers predict where conflicts may occur, empathize with minority viewpoints, and innovate water solutions that could be used to advance environmental justice goals.