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The inexorable laws of economics appear to be leading to the conservation of water through reduction of losses and increased efficiency. Beneficiaries of water projects should pay for them through user charges. Findings Based on Seven Themes In its brief summary report, New Directions in Us. Water Policy,2 transmitted to the President and Congress on June 28, 1973, the Commission identified seven recurring themes that emerged from its studies and provided the foundation for its conclusions and recommendations. First, the demand for water in the future is not on an inevitable growth trend but depends in large part on policy decisions within the control of society, Second, the Commission saw a shifting of national priorities away from water development toward preservation and enhancement of water quality, including uses of water for recreation, aesthetics and preservation of the balance of nature. In identifying these first two themes, the Commission was reporting its agreement with the findings expressed in a number of its studies. Events during the past 10 years confirm the significance of the Commission's observations. The concept of alternative futures espoused by the Commission is reflected in the best planning operations, and it is widely understood that water demands are influenced by government policies. The US, Water Resources Council, in its SecondNationalAssessment ofWater Supply andDemand,3 included estimates of future demands in the several water resources regions under two sets of assumptions. The report forecasts lower water use in certain industries in the decade ahead as a result of increased recycling and greater efficiency in the use of water. Likewise, the shift in national priorities noted by the Commission is continuing as legislation enacted prior to the Commission's report is implemented and as public interest in environmental preservation is stimulated by the activities of environmental groups. The Land-Water Connection The remaining themes epitomized the substance of the Commission's principal recommendations. Thus, the third theme dealt with the need to tie water resources planning more closely to land use planning. Efforts to do this under the Water Resources planning Act of 1965 were not very successful. Agreat many plans were prepared that lacked public support and could not be implemented, One reason for the difficulty of producing successfully integrated and acceptable plans may well be that responsibilities for land use planning are in state and local governments, while water planning activities have been largely dominated by federal agencies. The experiment now under way in the Red River valley of the North, attempting to develop a "grass-roots" approach to water management, might, if successful, lead to effective integration of land and water planning. Reduced Losses, Increased Efficiency The inexorable laws of economics appear to be driving the nation to acceptance and implementation of the Commission's fourth theme, expressed in its recommendation for policies leading to the conservation of water through reduction of losses and increased efficiency. Recent statistics on water use in industry show substantial reductions in water use per unit of output. Increasing domestic water bills, as the costs of developing new water supplies rise, will have the same effect on per capita water use. Events such as the California drought and increases in the cost of energy for pumping in the mid- 1970s helped lead to reductions in water use for irrigation. A System of User Charges The Commission's ftfth theme, calling for sound economic principles in water resources decision-making, led to its recommendation that, to the extent practicable, beneficiaries of water projects should pay for them through user charges, Both the Carter and the Reagan Administrations adopted this policy, but it is not yet accepted as a general principle by the Congress. 9