Water Delivery Organizations Convey Much of the Water Used for Irrigation in the Western United States.

Water delivery organizations in the western United States play a significant role in conveying water for irrigation. These organizations range from small communal ditch organizations to large formal quasi-public institutions. According to the USDA's 2019 Survey of Irrigation Organizations, these organizations manage about 70 percent of water withdrawn for irrigation and almost 60 percent of water withdrawn for all agricultural, commercial, industrial, and municipal uses in the western United States. The role of these organizations is smaller in regions with more precipitation or where groundwater is readily available. The differences in the roles of irrigation water delivery organizations between the western and eastern regions of the United States are notable, with the western regions relying more heavily on these organizations due to lower precipitation levels. [Extracted from the article]