ABSTRACTA new water governance framework with the aim of overcoming past racial inequalities in water access and addressing the critical challenges of water security in the country was developed by the post-Apartheid South African government in the years following 1994. The adoption of ideas of collaborative governance and institutional devolution associated with integrated water resources management (IWRM) are central to this framework. Using social theory, this study examines structural and agential dimensions of power manifested during the establishment process of a water user association in the Northwest Province of South Africa. Portraying that the establishment process of this new institution was flawed due to power asymmetries of interacting actors, this article unmasks supposedly collective decision-making processes in collaborative water governance. As the establishment of water user associations in South Africa is an ongoing political process, our findings have societal relevance for the country’s future water policy implementation.