A Water User Board or Water User Association (WUA) is a group of water users, such as irrigator

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

s, who pool their financial, technical, material, and human resources for the operation and maintenance of a water system. A WUA usually elects leaders, handles disputes internally, collects fees, and implements maintenance. In most areas, WUA membership depends on one’s relationship to a water source (such as groundwater or a canal).

Local Water User's Boards are widely used to manage irrigation in Peru

Irrigation in Peru

Water resources and irrigation infrastructure in Peru vary throughout the country. The coastal region, an arid but fertile land, has about two-thirds of Peru’s irrigation infrastructure due to private and public investment aimed at increasing agricultural exports...

, and are increasingly used to manage irrigation in the Dominican Republic

Irrigation in the Dominican Republic

Irrigation in the Dominican Republic has been an integral part of DR agricultural and economic development in the 20th Century. Public investment in irrigation has been the main driver for irrigation infrastructural development in the country...

, although with mixed results.

Characteristics of enduring, Self-governing WUAs

Political scientist Elinor Ostrom

Elinor Ostrom

Elinor Ostrom is an American political economist. She was awarded the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, which she shared with Oliver E. Williamson, for "her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons." She was the first, and to date, the only woman to win the prize in...

 has identified seven important characteristics of organizations which manage common resources well:

• Clearly defined boundaries. The membership of the institution must be well defined. It must be clear who has legitimate access to the resource, who is under the authority of the association, and who the “others” are that must be prevented from access. Additionally, the boundaries of the resource must be defined. In the case of WUAs, the membership would likely be all landowners that receive water from a main canal
  Canal
  Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
  
   and the resource would be the flows. This is known as a hydrologic
  Hydrology
  Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability...
  
   organizing structure. However, some groups choose to organize in ways more familiar to their culture. There are cases of organization by village or kinship which also have had success.

• Appropriation, rule, and local conditions congruence. It is necessary for the resource appropriations and rules to be adapted to a local area. Ostrom stresses that it is not specific rules which are necessary for strong institutions but rather rules to which the members agree. Rules made by locals will inevitably make sense with local conditions.

• Collective-choice. It is necessary that all members have the opportunity to play a role in changing the rules. All those directly affected (i.e. irrigators) should be able to voice their opinions and vote. While officials are elected to execute duties, the real authority rests with the general assembly of water users.

• Monitoring. In order for all users to make a credible commitment to one another and fully cooperate, they must know their fellow users are not stealing. Monitoring may take the form of water guards or more sophisticated gages.

• Graduated sanctions. Penalties for those breaking the rules of the organization must be imposed by the members (or an elected board). The penalties should be commensurate with the infraction and could even lead to expulsion from the WUA. Such severe penalties deter users from attempting to steal.

• Conflict-resolution mechanisms. One of the beauties of WUAs is the ability to handle disputes on the local level. This avoids the tortuous legal processes in the judicial system and adds to the accountability among the group. The members are apt to make equitable decisions for disputes knowing they may be in a similar situation in the future.

• Minimal recognition of right to organize. Members must have the ability to organize without being challenged by external government authorities. In other words, they must be given true authority over their resource and the members in it.

WUA are fundamentally a participatory, bottom-up concept. Though they have existed for centuries, they have received particular attention in recent decades as a development tool. WUAs have been organized in developing countries as diverse and distant as Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

, and Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

among others.