Community-Based Irrigation Management and the Roles of Water Use Association in Cepu District, Blora Regency, Indonesia

The research aims to examine the roles of water use association in Cepu District and their contribution to the development of small-scale water resource management. Descriptive analysis was conducted to draw conclusions from the observed phenomena, where the data was collected and analysed using quantitative and qualitative techniques. The results show that there are three patterns of water resource management in Cepu, namely the surface irrigation, groundwater-use and rainwater-use which also indicate the variation of the irrigation governance in the communities. Water Use Association can promote farmers to increase farming index up to four times per year (two times for paddy and one up to two times for horticulture products), facilitate farmers managing water through primary, secondary and tertiary irrigation canal, facilitate farmers to propose fundings for procurements or maintenances of irrigation infrastructures, provide platform for producing norms and governance for joint irrigation management for better income while information exchange can appear within WUA members, and promote mutual assistance. The study concludes that collective management through social groups, Water Use Association, have positive impact for the members.