Collaborative Solutions to Inland Freshwater Salinization

Collaborative Solutions to Inland Freshwater Salinization | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Collaborative Solutions to Inland Freshwater Salinization Stanley Grant, Shantanu Bhide, Anne Spiesman, Shalini Misra, Megan Rippy, and 15 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6676897/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in Communications Earth & Environment → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Inland freshwater salinization is an emerging and largely unregulated threat to global water security. We demonstrate how Elinor Ostrom’s Social-Ecological Systems (SES) framework for the collective management of common pool resources can guide collaborative solutions to this grand challenge. Applied to rising sodium concentrations in a drinking water source for one million people, the framework diagnosed key barriers and focused stakeholder-engaged research in three areas: (1) predictability of system dynamics, (2) shared understanding of the SES, and (3) rules-in-use for sodium management. Our findings support a Theory of Change that integrates the deductive logic of SES theory with the inductive strength of convergence research, offering a generalizable model for addressing emerging and unregulated water quality challenges. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Sustainability Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Climate-change mitigation Freshwater Salinization Social-Ecological Systems Common Pool Resources Stakeholder-Engaged Research Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMethods31525.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in Communications Earth & Environment → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6676897","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":459449275,"identity":"abb97958-674c-4b0b-af17-efb773609165","order_by":0,"name":"Stanley 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