“Whiskey’s for drinkin’. Water’s for fightin’ over.”

This quote (attributed, probably apocryphally, to Mark Twain) reflects the reality that human beings often compete over scarce resources, including water. Water conflict can occur between countries or states sharing a river basin or aquifer, or between different interest groups within the same political entity – and it can involve not just competition over water use, but also conflicts over water quality, flooding, and infrastructure.

At the same time, there is also a cooperative tendency built into human societies. Cooperation over water management can lead to great benefits in the long term.