Users, Operators and Hydraulic Structures: A Case of Irrigation Management in Western Mexico

Abstract

"This paper analyses how physical structures in irrigation systems influence the social practice of water management. It argues that irrigation design is less of a determinant for particular water management patterns than is sometimes assumed by engineers, and that it may not be necessary to change the design of canal structures fundamentally for new management practices to emerge. This has implications for interventions in the management of irrigation systems."