More than ever, Americans rely on independent special districts to provide public services. The special district -- which can be as small as a low-budget mosquito abatement district or as vast as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey -- has become the most common form of local governance in the United States. In Governing the Tap, Megan Mullin examines the consequences of specialization and the fragmentation of policymaking authority through the lens of local drinking-water policy. Directly comparing specific conservation, land use, and contracting policies enacted by...