Study On The Establishment And Operation Of Water Users' Association

At present, the existent problems in large irrigation districts (IDs) in China have been become increasingly prominent, such as the management system was confused, the lower water fee collected rate, and the main body for managing the terminal canal system in ID was"absent", etc. The current management system in IDs was not suitable to the socialist market economic system. If want to change this situation and achieve healthy cycle for the agricultural water supply, the water users must participate in the irrigation management in terminal canal system. In other words, must push the participatory irrigation management. So eatablishing the WUAs in terminal canal system in IDs is the direction and main model of participatory irrigation management.In China, since the first WUA had been established in Zhanghe Irrigation District of Hubei Province in 1995 up to now, the WUAs have past from the pilot phase to the development and extension stage. Though the WUAs have become mature through more than ten years development and promotion, but still exist many problems and shortcomings in the establishment and operation of WUAs. Pointed to weakness for the WUA research in China, such as less deeply investigation and shortage of data support and so on, this paper was depended on the real investigation, and based on the continual six years(2000~2005) tracking date for 800 fixed sampling households and 120 lateral canals in Guanzhong Irrigation Districts(GID) by the M&E group of the Northwest A&F University, rather completely analyzed the problems in the process of establishment and operation of WUA and the external factors for influencing normal operation of WUAs. Major analyzed the problems as nonstandard establishment procedures, the low rate of registration, inadequate funds for maintenance of canal system, and not play proper function by effected external resistances, etc. Pointed to these existent problems, put forward the some related suggestions and ideas. Also has researched the impacts of WUAs, such as: water saving and increasing grain production, increasing the agricultural income, and reducing the farmers'burden of water fee and so on.Through above systemic study, the author has made out the following major conclusions:(1) Implementing the participatory irrigation management is the only way for solving the problem of management system and realizing the healthy cycle of irrigation water use in IDs.(2) WUAs have become the main and most effective reform model for the terminal canal system in GID of Shaanxi Province.(3) WUAs have achieved remarkable impacts; strengthening the water users'awareness of democratically participating irrigation management and promoting the democracy construction in countryside have important political significance.(4) Good performance of WUA can not do without the support of local government and related policies.(5) In order to overcome the defects of contract, lease and other reform modes, supervision WUAs should be grafted as for a transition.The results of this paper can provide the theoretical basis for the establishment and operation of WUA. In special, for the analysis and research for the calculating method of irrigation water costs, the collecting methods of water charge and farmers'bearing capacity for the current irrigation water fee, it can be supplied the basis and reference for the agricultural water price reform and determining the water price in WUA in irrigation districts.