California’s buildings sit at the center of an increasingly volatile water future. Intensifying droughts, extreme precipitation, aging infrastructure, and growing urban demand are exposing the limits of traditional water efficiency strategies. While past decades have focused on using less water, the next era of green building must focus on using water differently by treating buildings as active participants in urban water management rather than passive endpoints. This session explores how building-scale and decentralized water solutions can reduce strain on centralized infrastructure, lower the energy associated with water treatment and transport, and improve resilience at the building, neighborhood, and city scale. Attendees will hear perspectives from research, design, and urban water policy to understand why promising water solutions often struggle to move from concept to widespread adoption. The session examines how water strategies intersect with energy use, carbon reduction goals, cost, and equity, and demonstrates why early coordination across disciplines consistently drives project success. Equity and reciprocity are central: water risks and system failures disproportionately impact frontline and historically underserved communities, and thoughtfully designed building-scale interventions can deliver shared public benefits rather than shifting costs onto those least able to absorb them. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of where water innovation fits within high-performance buildings, how to identify opportunities in their own projects, and practical steps they can take today to support a more resilient and equitable water future.