I argue that environmental thinking demands thinking at two levels: values and science. 'Environmental soundness' is first and foremost a value, and a multi-dimensional one at that, including sustainability of, but also equity in, material and spiritual well-being. But environmental thinking also recognises 'connectedness' as a feature of the world, and water is one of the classic cases: connecting upstream to downstream, polluter to pollutee, river to well, forest to sea, dams to farmers, and rooftops to lakes. Water is therefore also inherently a site for conflict, requiring attention to knowledge and social institutions. I use the example of Bengaluru city to highlight the potential for, and challenges in, evolving and implementing an environmentally sound urban water management strategy.