This paper analyses the central role of water infrastructure in the transformation of hydrosocial
territories through a case study in the Forquilha catchment in Brazil’s Nordeste. Decentralised state-led
infrastructural development reinforced the resilience of communities to drought, leading to more sustainable water
access by many families; this was further magnified through individual and collective initiatives. However, this
entailed the overdevelopment of small-scale hydraulic infrastructure and the formation of small community-based
hydrosocial territories, which changed water flows and social relations at different scales. We show how this has
led to the loss of hydraulic connectivity and the fragmentation of the catchment and how it has weakened collective
action vis-à-vis the state. The state staged a remarkable interventionist comeback in the catchment by connecting
medium-sized reservoirs in the upstream part of the catchment to urban water supply networks. In the absence of
negotiated water reallocation, this may lead to the loss of water and livelihoods by vulnerable groups
