NWRA's Identity

Access to water is a fundamental necessity for life, a cornerstone of civilization and the key to economic stability, growth and prosperity. For more than eighty years, members of the NWRA have been providing clean water to families, farms, businesses and communities throughout the West. The NWRA is a nonprofit federation of agricultural and municipal water providers, state associations, and individuals dedicated to the conservation, enhancement and efficient management of our nation’s most important natural resource: water. Our members proudly provide clean water to millions of people, irrigate millions of acres of farmland, and contribute billions of dollars to the U.S. economy. NWRA members are actively engaged in addressing the water supply challenges posed by population growth and continued drought in the western United States. Our members look forward to working with Congress and our federal agency partners to create opportunities to meet these challenges. NWRA thanks Congress for its attention to the critical water supply issues facing our nation, and for supporting our members as they continue to be stewards of our nation’s water supply and a critical part of the economy.

Our Mission

To promote the best use of the water resources of the nation for the benefit of our people and environment. 

Our Objective

To promote the following principles of water management:

• The inherent right and obligation of the people of all states to fully develop their water resources within the framework of applicable interstate compacts, and the water laws of the respective states.
• Integrated and multiple utilization of water development projects.
• Authorization of and adequate appropriations for projects to develop, control, conserve and utilize total water resources.
• The need for additional long-term water storage to provide adequate water for domestic, agricultural, industrial and other water uses during extended drought. 

Our Strategy

We will fulfill our mission and achieve our objectives in accordance with adopted objectives and resolutions to: 

• Promote the development, control, conservation, preservation and utilization of the water resources of the nation,
• Cooperate with and assist federal, state, and local agencies in securing prompt approval of and funding necessary for the construction, operation, maintenance, and replacement of water projects,
• Preserve and promote the rights and interests of the states in their water resources, subject to interstate compacts and treaties,
• Conduct a public information program and support research programs which will clearly inform the public of the primary and secondary regional and national economic benefits of and the great contributions irrigation and other water resources developments make to human needs, including food, recreation, sanitation, power, social progress, and a high quality environment, and to the overall strength and needs of our nation, and,
• Establish an objective factual record on the environmental and economic impacts of existing and proposed water resources development projects; present such factual record in appropriate forums; assist, as appropriate and justified, in the defense of water resource development projects; and present testimony before Congress, state legislatures, and other legally constituted agencies of government that will lead to the orderly authorization, funding, construction and operation of needed and meritorious projects.