Approximately two months ago when we planned this issue in partnership with G’nY, it was peak summer and thought it would be a good idea to bring out an issue on water, naturally when, water seemed to be at a premium. By the time the issue was finalised, Niti Aayog, a government think tank, came out with its report,‘Composite Water Management Index 2018’ ranking states on their efforts to manage water resources. The Aayog report underlines the ensuing crisis officially stating that 600 million people suffer from scarcity of water in India (approximately half its population), about 20,000 people die annually due to poor access to water and about 21 cities are likely to run out of water in the next couple of years. So even when monsoon is underway, there is an urgent need to look at the ways in which governments and people together can resolve this fast approaching zero day scenario. This special edition brings about lessons from different ecological zones with different set of water management practices. It focuses on groundwater management, rainwater harvesting and also talks about ways in which these practices can be institutionalised. The issue covers an interesting documentation of revival and conservation of lakes in Bengaluru. The story of Gram Vikas in Odisha is worth re-telling as well. We hope the readers will find these stories worth discussing and taking them forward to the places they haven’t reached so far.