Connections and Collaborations of Local Water Management Organizations of Utah

Abstract

ABSTRACTFragmented water governance arrangements complicate sustainable water management in the western U.S. where local water management organizations (LWMOs), including municipalities and irrigation groups, directly manage water conveyance systems. LWMOs make critical decisions that determine water delivery and management, but have traditionally not collaborated with one another. Our research examines the ways in which LWMOs are increasingly interconnected within a context of widespread urbanization. We draw on three years of qualitative research on LWMOs in Utah, including interviews and in-depth qualitative case studies, to analyze the conditions under which collaborations between LWMOs emerge, or have not yet occurred. Our findings indicate that historically fragmented LWMOs are engaging in cooperative efforts based on their extensive water infrastructure connections. LWMOs did not transform cooperative efforts into collaborations unless such a collaboration protected internal interests. LWMOs engaged in collaborations primarily to reduce their liabilities in the instance of infrastructure failure.