The Southeast's rich cultural and economic heritage is inextricably linked to its natural resources. Abundant water has historically provided the basis for agriculture, transportation, energy production, and recreation. It has also endowed the region with a priceless diversity of flora and fauna. Despite these assets, our region has begun to experience conflicts over water use and supply comparable in their potential scope to those found in other areas of the country. The sources of these conflicts include actual or contemplated interbasin diversion, difficulties in reconciling multiple water uses during drought, and challenges in balancing instream and offstream demands. These conflicts are beginning to take center-stage among policymakers and the media, particularly because they are increasingly becoming entwined in economic development and environmental protection issues. However, a systematic examination of how to address them has not yet been undertaken. The Southeast Water Resources: Management and Supply Symposium was an initial attempt at charting a path for addressing these conflicts. The goal of the symposium was to build a foundation for developing an effective regional approach to managing water in the Southeastern U.S. This approach would: recognize how water problems in one part of the region affect the welfare of other parts; acknowledge interrelationships among physical, ecological, socioeconomic, and institutional factors; provide a coordinated decision-making framework to enhance cooperation among jurisdictions, agencies, and stakeholders; and anticipate sources of conflict before they lead to impasse.