The Infrastructuralization of Water: Water Management and Sustainable Development of Kinmen Island

Islands often suffer from relatively limited freshwater resources, and the effective utilization and distribution of water resources are a key issues for the sustainable development of island-based economies and societies. While island water security has been widely discussed, few studies trace the socio-technical construction of island water-supply systems across the stages of planning, construction, and operation. Integrating Actor-Network Theory with political ecology, this study investigates the water-supply infrastructure of Kinmen. Drawing on official archives, participant observation, and in-depth interviews, this research analyzes the collective actions mobilized to address Kinmen’s water scarcity following the lifting of martial law in 1992. These efforts jointly reshaped both water-supply practices and the infrastructural network. Over the past three decades, Kinmen’s water-supply system has transformed into a sophisticated technological network, integrating reservoirs, desalination plants, and advanced sewage infrastructure. The introduction of these technologies, which function as critical non-human actors within the system, marks a clear shift in how water is managed and distributed. However, the rapid expansion of water-intensive industries, especially tourism, liquor distilling, and cattle farming, has outpaced local ecological limits, precipitating the current water crisis. The study concludes that this shortage has been mitigated through the strategic integration of water sources, most notably the cross-strait pipeline from mainland China, which now provides more than 80 percent of the island’s water. This transition marks a profound shift in the island’s socio-technical and geopolitical network.