The Upper Taieri River catchment is an arid area in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand faced with intensifying agriculture production. This article describes an assessment of the education/communication processes of a water resource management project and the effects on farmer beliefs/attitudes and targeted outcomes. Lessons learned from this project will guide future activities in the catchment and may have wider significance in developing community-determined allocation and management regimes in other areas faced with water shortage and water quality issues.