The Dynamics of the Relationship Between Water Availability, Water Equity, Economic Benefits and Water User Associations' Performance: A PLS-SEM Approach

Abstract

Water availability, water equity, farmers' participation, compliance with rules and conflicts, and water theft management are the main drivers of water user associations' (WUAs) performance. The main objective of the study was to find out the relationship between water availability, water equity, economic benefits, and WUAs' performance. This study was conducted in 2 distributaries at the Lower Chenab Canal west area water board in the district of Faisalabad, Pakistan. A multistage random sampling technique was used to collect the data from 240 farmers using a well-structured questionnaire. A PLS-SEM model was used to analyze the structural paths between water availability, water equity, economic benefits, and WUAs' performance. The measurement model by using Cronbach's alpha, rho-A, composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE) has confirmed the internal reliability and validity of the questionnaire. Results indicate that timely water availability, less water shortage, and timely repair and maintenance were the core influencing indicators with high factor loadings (> 0.70) to the water availability construct that significantly positively influencing the economic benefits(& beta; = 0.74, p = 000) and performance of WUAs (& beta; = 0.34, p = 000). Equitable distribution of water across the farm size, location, ethnic groups, and greater fair and justice were the substantial influencing indicators with high loadings (> 0.80) to the water equity construct that has positive and direct significant influence on the performance of WUAs (& beta; = 0.48, p = 000). It has been evaluated that water availability and economic benefits had a positive and indirect impact on the WUAs performance (& beta; = 0.09, p = 000). Besides the insights of all the drivers of performance of WUAs, the study recommended that WUAs management system still in infancy even after the decades of its establishment and establishing the parallel institutes are neither sufficient nor mandatory. Furthermore, there is a need to reconsider the inner structure of WUAs management and establishment of cohesion among all the stakeholders in decision making. There is also a need to provide trainings to farmers and WUAs officials for effective management of WUAs system.