Risk Perceptions and Water Governance: Experiences of Irrigation Companies in the Great Salt Lake Basin of Northern Utah, United States

Irrigation companies are important water management entities in the Western US. However, these companies often face barriers when managing water. Particularly as the state of Utah grows and water resources are drying, there is much finger pointing at those in irrigation and agriculture for better water management. However, pointing fingers without the participation of these companies often does not lead to effective water management outcomes. Therefore, it is important to understand the role of these irrigation companies, and particularly how they are approaching water management. I set out to understand the role of these irrigation companies, specifically in the Great Salt Lake Basin in Utah. I approached this work through two primary chapters. In Chapter Two, I describe how irrigation companies and other entities are organized and structured. Additionally in Chapter Two, I discuss the data complexities associated with irrigation company water rights and organization. In Chapter Three I conducted a total of 18 interviews with irrigation company representatives and surveyed 45 companies. Both interview and survey efforts aimed to address what risks companies perceive, what company priorities are, what challenges they face, water resource planning in the future, perspectives on company governance, and perspectives on the Great Salt Lake. From these efforts, I conclude that companies are multi-faceted but often do not feel as though they have a seat at the decision-making table regarding water. I conclude this thesis with discussions of research limitations as well as managerial and policy implications moving forward.