Water laws in the West often give priority to whose who used a water source first, often farmers. Farmers in New Mexico are fighting to regain their place at the head of the line.

An effort to build the Western Hemisphere's largest seawater desalination plant faces a crucial test today, as San Diego's regional water agency votes on whether to buy all the water the plant would make.

Oil refineries are among the many industries that use large volumes of water. A refinery in water-parched southern California turned to waste water for its needs.

Fast-growing India is pumping itself dry. For the "water man," the solutions will come from the grassroots.