Excerpts from the report Introduction: Many irrigation projects have been developed in the Western States. The legal forms of the organizations under which they were set up included irrigation districts and several types of both mutual and commercial companies. Some of the projects failed; others have been successful throughout their history. Because many more such projects are likely to be developed in the future, the Soil Conservation Service and the Bureau of Agricultural Economics of the United States Department of Agriculture undertook a study of these various types of organizations. Field work for the study was conducted chiefly in 1946 and 1947. A progress report was submitted by the authors to the participating agencies in October 1948 for the immediate use of those agencies. This report summarizes the results of the study and coordinates them with those from previous studies of such organizations. From the study an attempt was made to learn not only the advantages and disadvantages of each type of organization in the development and operation of irrigation projects but also the influence of the various provisions of pertinent Federal and State laws on the solution of problems that arise in managing such enterprises.
