The various water institutions in Utah are examined with respect to their history, purpose, legal status, organizational structure, management system, financial arrangement and service responsibility. The restraints that each type of institution has upon the overall state planning effort are identified and critically examined. Emphasis is given to those institutions in the Wasatch front area of Utah where pressures of urbanization and industrialization are increasing. Specific details are given for the mutual water companies, irrigation districts, private companies, municipal water companies, and conservancy districts in Utah and Weber Counties.