In South Africa, the 1998 National Water Act launched an in-depth reform of water resource management. At the local level, all the Irrigation Boards (IBs), which used to be managed by large-scale farmers, are to be transformed into Water User Associations (WUAs). These WUAs are expected to incorporate all users in the defined area of jurisdiction, whether they have a formal water entitlement or not. It is believed that this transformation will enable better participation of historically disadvantaged individuals (HDIs) in the management of water resources. It will also provide a basis for improving local integrated management of water resources. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), in cooperation with the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), undertook a research program on this transformation. The main objective of the research was to understand the constraints and opportunities of the transformation, with regard to the goal of meeting HDIs' water-related needs. A secondary objective was to assess the role of these new WUAs in local integrated water resource management. This paper presents three case studies of IBs that have not yet been transformed into WUAs. The case studies constitute the background information for the research report entitled An assessment of small-scale users' inclusion in large-scale Water User Associations in South Africa (Faysse, forthcoming 2004). The first case study deals with the Umlaas IB in KwaZulu-Natal. This Board manages water use in the upper part of the Mlazi River catchment. Around 4,000 ha are irrigated, mainly to produce maize and sugar cane. Times of water scarcity are rare. Slopes in the upper parts of the catchment are steep and the IB along with the upstream rural communities and commercial forestry companies, have undertaken several initiatives to address erosion problems in the area, with the cooperation of these companies. The second case study relates to the Komati and Lomati IBs in Mpumalang