This paper engages with policy on meeting development goals for water through interventions, which promote good governance. Addressing an under-researched area, we propose a new analytical framework for understanding water governance, not as a set of abstract principles, but as interlinked processes with variable practical outcomes for poor people. The framework is informed by theories of governance, institutions and structuration, empirical research and field insights. We apply the framework to a case in south-western Tanzania, and we identify a range of issues for further research, particularly relating to water access for the poor.