About 300 miles southwest of San Antonio, water taps have run dry in a major Mexico city.

Thousands of residents wake up at dawn to check their taps and fill up containers. Others line up with large jugs, bottles and buckets at cisterns around the city, where fights have broken out when people try to jump the line.

This is the scene in the industrial hub of Monterrey, Mexico — the nation's third largest city and one of its wealthiest. Officials there announced in early June they would restrict access to running water in and around the 5-million-person city, allowing only six hours of water access a day. Some neighborhoods didn’t receive any water at all.

The problem is dire: Two of the three main reservoirs serving the city are practically empty, a problem made even worse by an exceptionally dry spring and summer.

Summer temperatures soar past 100 degrees most days, as residents grapple with the effects of a water shortage that's been a longtime coming, according to experts.

But Monterrey isn't alone in its water crisis.

Drought is sapping the water from huge swaths of North America and making it increasingly hard for humans to count on running water. Experts know some communities are more vulnerable than others, but the growing challenge remains the same: Keep the taps from running dry.

“I hope that (people) realize the conditions experienced in Mexico are happening near their homes in the U.S.,” said Heather Tanana, an assistant research professor at University of Utah’s College of Law.

In the U.S., many Native American tribes along the Colorado River Basin lack access to reliable water sources and clean drinking water, free of contaminants like uranium and arsenic. Some community members regularly travel long distances to haul water for everyday use.