ABSTRACT
To a remarkable degree, many writers on irrigation ignore and even appear unaware of the relationships between people and irrigation water. Attention is usually fixed on hydrological, engineering, agricultural and economic aspects. Especially in official documents it is rare to find described, let alone analysed, the human side of the organisation and operation of irrigation systems — the management of those who manage the water, the procedures for irrigation control, the processes of allocation of water to groups or individuals, the distribution of water within groups. There may be almost as many instances of these omissions as there are reports on irrigation.
