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This paper presents an analytical framework to identify and understand grassroots water governance practices, which we call ‘rooted water collectives’ (RWC). RWCs can be multi-scalar organizations that engage in common property resources management or multi-scalar social movements that advocate for common property resources governance. The framework, which we open for discussion, scrutinizes (1) the extent to which ‘rooted water collectives’ are ‘grounded’ in the sense they address locally perceived water control problems and resort to water-context embedded meaning, values, identities, belonging and vernacular knowledge; (2) their internal decision-making dynamics; and (3) their effectiveness in achieving impact at multiple scales. It also considers five contextual factors that enable and constrain RWC development. RWC can be deployed as a conceptual lens, but also as an empirical manifestation …