When severe and prolonged drought hit Australia’s Murray Darling Basin, the country’s agricultural heartland, policymakers used economic modeling to weigh up the most efficient and cost effective policies to recover water and reduce consumption. Water supply and use tables from water accounts were central to these models. The models presented clear evidence for a water buyback policy being the best to tackle the acute water shortages and limit the economic impact and environmental damage caused by the drought. Ultimately, for political reasons a different approach was adopted.