The ways to get water in Stranded Deep

Water is the most difficult and most important resource to obtain. It is hard because you need huge amounts of it right from the start of the game. Although there are several methods of obtaining it, you will spend a large part of your time in the game getting it.
When your ‘Thirst’ drops to zero, a ‘Dehydration’ status effect is applied to the character. It causes weakness and consistent decline in health.

Details on all the statuses can be found in the guide:

Stranded Deep - All status Effects and how to remove them

Water is also essential to the maintenance of your plantation. Without proper irrigation, the plants simply die.

Coconut milk

Right from the start of the game, getting coconut milk is the easiest way to stay hydrated. Coconuts are available on every island, you can reach for them on a coconut tree.
To do this, approach the palm tree and press the action button to start climbing to the top. Some fruits are quite low so you can pick them without climbing the tree.
Just be careful while climbing, because if you climb too high or jump down from too great of a height, you may end up breaking your leg. Unfortunately coconuts do not grow back, so after collecting all of them, you have to look for them on other islands. You can collect them all at once, because they never spoil. They also don't need to be stored in any containers as scattered items never disappear. They never go bad, so feel free to collect them all on the first day.

Water Still

The water collector is one of the first buildings that you need to build as soon as possible. To build, you need to have at least the second level Craftsmanship. To advance your level, either build a few buildings or craft some items. It can collect up to 4 portions of water, which can be directly drunk or poured into a container. It is worth having at least two collectors on the island to refill your supplies after each rainstorm. When it is dry, the collector will not collect water until you put Palm Leaves underneath it, or Fibrous Leaves that you can collect from small palm trees. It is much better to underlay the fibers as it is a renewable resource. Large palm leaves are useful for other structures and are definitely more difficult to get.

A good tactic is to create several containers to collect the water. At the beginning of the game the Coconut Flask will allow you to store one portion, then the Leather Waterskin holds three portions, and the Clay Water Bottle will hold up to 5 portions. Remember to empty the water collector before each rain.

Quwawa Fruit

A rare fruit, it resembles a yellow pear and grows on low shrubs. Quwawa does not require cooking and restores 2 squares of Health and 1 square of Hydration when eaten. It is not found on all islands and never grows back, so if you do find it, it is definitely better to plant it in a pot than to eat it right away. Watering will renew it endlessly. Remember that the Quwawa fruit will go bad if harvested after 24 hours. Fortunately, spoiled fruit can also be planted in a pot.

Kura Fruit

Kura fruit like Quwawa, grows on low bushes. It will go bad 24 hours after harvesting, and will restore 2 squares of Health and one square of Hydration when eaten. The fruit does not grow back, so it is better to plant it in a pot to ensure you never run out.
The fruit, just like the Quwawa, will never go bad if it is not picked from the bush.

Rations

Food rations can be found in shipwrecks, and you get a few at the beginning of the game - they are in the lifeboat's storage compartment. After eating, they restore 3.5 bars of Health and Hydration. They cannot be made, so they are good as a contingency plan as they never spoil.

Renewable methods for water

The only renewable methods are:

• water collector powered by rainwater or fibers (which renews every 2-3 days).
• Quwawa and Kura fruit, as long as you plant them in a pot

Coconuts and food rations, unfortunately, never renew, so it's worth saving them.