Examining local truth regimes on flooding and river management in the Lower Missouri River Basin, USA

Riverine flooding is increasing in frequency and intensity, requiring river management agencies to consider new approaches to working with communities on flood mitigation planning. Communication and information sharing between agencies and communities is complex, and mistrust and misinformation arise quickly when communities perceive that they are excluded from planning. Subsequently, riverfront community members create narratives that can be examined as truth regimes — truths created and repeated that indicate how flooding and its causes are understood, represented, and discussed within their communities — to explain why flooding occurs in their area. To better understand community perceptions of river management related to repeated flooding, we employed a qualitative methodology of semi-structured interviews with 112 community members in 3 communities on the Missouri River, USA. Discourse analysis of the interviews revealed three dominant truth regimes that shape perceptions of river management in these communities: 1) upstream reservoir releases are driven by recreational aims, such as fishing and boating, instead of flood control; 2) endangered species management surpasses other uses; and 3) river navigation for commerce is no longer prioritized. For environmental managers, understanding the truths circulating within communities can help moderate mistrust of and frustration with governing bodies, guide project messaging to disarm false truth regimes, and improve the communication of science and policy.