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When there's a fight over who gets water, the upstream landowner usually holds the upper hand.

And if it involves states, the fuss can get nasty. A few years ago, Georgia and its battling neighbors were about to call up their militias. Out west, California has been embroiled in protracted water fights for decades.

While a dispute between North and South Carolina over withdrawing water from the Catawba River hasn't reached those levels, it could escalate.

N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper believes a two-state river commission, approved after South Carolina filed suit in 2007, is the best way to resolve the issue. His counterpart, Henry McMaster, prefers direct negotiation.

Either way would be preferable to taking the dispute to a federal court, which would be too time-consuming and costly. Since states are involved, the matter likely would end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Droughts exacerbate the situation, and upstream North Carolina in recent years has taken water at the expense of downstream South Carolina.

The Catawba, with headwaters near Old Fort, flows more than 400 miles through the Piedmont and beyond before reaching Lake Wylie in South Carolina. According to South Carolina, the 48 million gallons diverted by cities north of the border each day vastly reduce its portion of the river. An estimated 1.3 million South Carolinians rely on the river for drinking water.

With no new water sources on the horizon, resource management becomes a priority. Water conservation and recycling are particularly critical during the region's periodic droughts.

On a positive note, Concord and Kannapolis recently agreed to limit withdrawals. However, Charlotte, the biggest user of Catawba water, has yet to make such a commitment.

Whether by a commission or negotiation, good neighbors ought to be able reach an equitable agreement.