Energy, water, and food are the top three threats to humanity, Nobel laureate Richard Smalley of Rice University stated in 2003. Two decades later, those three challenges remain on any list of imminent and long-term threats to global stability. Producing energy requires ample amounts of clean water, and both plentiful sources of energy and water are required to produce food. The key, though, is ample amounts of water. The data listed above highlight the challenges of accessing and developing supplies in key parts of the American West. Meeting these challenges starts with planning. In Texas, for example, water planners focus on “desired future conditions” for the state’s nine major and 22 minor aquifers. Without a roadmap, targets are likely to go unmet when a catastrophe like a prolonged severe drought arises.