Water management strategies in arid urbanizing regions require careful evaluation of alternatives for supplying future demands and controlling water quality. Mathematical models were developed which describe the interrelationships among various institutional factors in order to delineate the requirements for implementing optimal policies. The first of two study areas selected to test the utility of the models is Denver, Colorado. The Utah Lake drainage area in central Utah is the second region considered. In this region, water quality management is necessary to insure the continued use of water in the downstream population center of the state. Together these models produce results useful in determining the optimal strategies for water management in arid urbanizing areas. A generalized summary is presented to integrate these findings into a West-wide evaluation of this problem. (Modified author abstract)