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The concept of resilience is surging in popularity, but relevant discussions are often disconnected from one field to another. To prompt integration of disparate conversations on resilience, we examine the concept’s origins etymologically, genealogically, and by analyzing the interdependencies of drinking water and public health systems in six academic disciplines and practice-oriented fields. These disciplines are engineering, social work, urban studies, political science, communication, and public health. While the disciplinary resilience literatures are relatively stove-piped from one another’s contexts, they all theorize resilience at multiple levels of analysis. They also engage a range of understandings of how to build resilience in complex systems. This paper brings several conversations together, addressing gaps and resonances in disciplinary conceptualizations of resilience with nine propositions to cultivate interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary discussions and debates. We ground this creative inquiry in real-world examples of water system crises to highlight subthemes among the propositions and stimulate more diverse discussions moving forward. We examine dynamics of interfaces and interactions within and between systems through the Elk River Water chemical contamination in Charleston, West Virginia in 2014. We investigate tensions that arise in knowledge and practice through lead poisoning of public water systems in Washington, D.C. and Flint, MI. Finally, we consider how change and persistence shape learning through water infrastructure in Southern California. All together, these propositions offer a starting point and a provocation to strengthen theorizing around resilience for critical infrastructure systems. 

Abstract This research investigates medium‐scale disruptive events to understand how these events influence communication and coordination between two interdependent systems (i.e., the water system and the public health system). Medium‐scale events are events that are often overlooked as routine as they occur with more frequency than large‐scale events, yet they have the potential to provide important information about the state and vulnerability of systems, and, if not managed appropriately, can cascade into larger‐scale crises. A survey of US public drinking water systems (N = 471) shows that medium‐scale events promote coordination, especially when those events have a public dimension. Findings also reveal that several features of water systems including surface water sources, system size, and ownership types are associated with higher levels of interaction with the public health systems. Additionally, a network analysis identifies three distinct subnetworks that engage in emergency response activities. The strength of the working relationship was strongly associated with coordinated emergency responses, coordinated public responses, planning, and technical assistance. Findings have implications for both theory and crisis management.