Irrigation requires disciplined cooperative effort and rewards it well. Ditches rely on cooperation:

• to make the most out of scarce resources
• to ensure "fairness" and honesty
• to provide a strong base to cope with future challenges.

Right: Cooperation is the big idea that makes the whole system run. Its importance cannot be over-emphasized. Left Hand Ditch meeting, Altona Grange, 2009. Annual ditch meetings are a fine example of co-operative, grass-roots democracy at work.