Recent assessments by legal, social and ecological scholars of six regional scale water systems (Columbia River, Klamath River, Middle Rio Grande River, Central Platte River, Anacostia River and the Everglades wetlands) all suggest a common historical pattern of crisis, adaptation and transformation. All systems went through development phases that created infrastructure and policies aimed at controlling the water to meet a set of human water supply needs. Such successful control led to a decline in ecological resilience, resulting in a series of environmental surprises. Such crises were followed by lurches in adaptation and learning, in which new institutional and governance structures emerged. Such adaptive forms of governance appear to be a robust way of integrating science, law and policy to confront the uncertainties of climate change.