UC Irvine

The National Water Commission Report has serious limitations as a professional document judged by analytical criteria including explicit assumptions, conceptual frameworks, and coherent and consistent recommendations. The report is structured by certain value positions rather than analytical concepts. These include rationality, efficiency, equity, faith in dollar measurements, new federalism, and the separation of policy and administration. The report falls short of a blueprint for change of present water policy because it lacks a comprehensive framework and is too discursive over too many unrelated topics.