How Federal Policies Affect the Allocation of Water

Use of the nation's freshwater resources attracts particular scrutiny in times of drought. When water is scarce, people are more aware of its importance. The mechanisms that govern the allocation and use of water are complicated, however. To examine how society uses its water resources, this Congressional Budget Office analysis addresses several major questions:
What are this country's water sources, and how is the water used?
What determines the underlying allocation, and does that allocation maximize water's potential benefits to society as a whole?
What policies might the federal government consider toward that end? View Document.