The results of the forecasting effort of the National Water Commission show both how (a) the economic demands for water in irrigated agriculture can be estimated and (b) how water use will be affected by policy decisions and the life styles of U.S. citizens. The importance of varying certain alternative policies and variations in the population growth rate are illustrated for nine alternative futures. Additional evaluations of this type are clearly needed; however, the importance of estimating the economic demands for water and evaluating the sensitivity of policy and life style variations on the use of water and land in agricultural production is established.