Common term for a group of independent [[Feudalism|feudal lords]] in the [[Eastern Dusts]] (all currently barons) whose power derives from control of the [[Irrigation|irrigation]] system. Their power has been diminished by improved well-drilling technologies which allow some arid communities to have water without pledging fealty to a water lord or engaging in extensive cloud-herding.

The greatest of the Water Lords was once the [[Yore Valley Barony|Baron]] of the [[Valley of Yore]], who controlled over 2000 square kilometers of arable land and extracted tribute from most of the towns north of the [[Dusty Mountains Pass]], but that barony was almost entirely destroyed by a sudden failure of the local aquifer in 2921 AE and the rapid expansion of the [[Crystal Forest|crystal forest]] down the Valley of Yore, causing the last [[Great Famine|great famine]] in the Eastern Dusts.

Contemporary Water Lords are baron [[Red Baron XI]], of the [[Red Manor]]; baroness [[Autumn Sun]] of [[Straw Dale]]; the lady [[Holymane]] of [[Twin Rivers]], and baron [[Paragon Spark]] of [[Sparks]]. The count of [[Springvale]], [[Graph Paper]], could also be considered a Water Lord. The lord of [[Dusty Furrows]], [[Dust Dandy]], might also be considered a water lord but is obligated by a treaty with [[Docktown]] to deliver water to the lands of [[Saddle Hall]], and so the lord of Dusty Furrows has little true power in relation to the water supply outside the dominion.

There are no Water Lords as such in the [[Western Dusts]], and irrigation in [[New Equestria]] and other more northern regions of the [[Isle of Yore]] is less extensive and not completely essential, as these regions often receive enough precipitation to support [[Agriculture|drylands farming]].