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Introduction Integrated water resource management (IWRM) is an ecosystem approach in which at least: (1) the catchment or river basin1 rather than an administrative or political unit is the management unit; (2) attention is directed to upstream-downstream, surfacegroundwater and water quantity-quality interactions; (3) interconnections of water with other natural resources and the environment are considered; (4) environmental, economic and social aspects receive attention; and (5) stakeholders are actively engaged in planning, management and implementation to achieve an explicit vision, objectives and outcomes. Moving from the ideals of IWRM to successful implementation can be challenging (Beveridge & Monsees, 2012; Biswas, 2008; Blomquist & Schlager, 2005; Butterworth, Warner, Moriarity, Smits, & Batchelor, 2010; Molle, 2008).