With climate change events posing new threats to Water Ecosystem, Watershed Organization Trust (WOTR) realized that water management and agriculture production needed focus. Moreover, it was observed that the post-project period increased groundwater levels benefitted few who could dig open wells and bore wells. This led WOTR to initiate the Climate Change Adaptation project, having an important component- ‘Water Stewardship’ along with groundwater governance and climate-resilient agriculture overlaying Watershed Development. For establishment of an effective, efficient, and transparent governance mechanism, WOTR and WOTR’s Centre for Resilience Studies (W-CReS) launched the ‘Water Stewardship Initiative’ (WSI) and piloted it in 100 rain-fed villages of Maharashtra. The initiative helped to sensitize communities about the causes of their fragile ‘water health’ status, develop pedagogy to nudge them towards more efficient harvesting and use of water, and evolve a set of norms and regulations to manage water sustainably.