Don’t underestimate the usefulness of administrative data. The backbone of the evaluation was the data provided by the Water User Associations (WUAs), also known as the WUA administrative data. The WUAs provided information on the number of water users, volume of water pumped, area irrigated, etc. This information was collected annually and provided MCC a snapshot of what was going on in the irrigation areas. Not only was it used to assess project results, but it was used to determine the scope of the final water user survey, decide on timing for the water user survey, and create a sampling frame for the water user survey. It was also inexpensive to collect.
Lesson Learned