Water has been a lifeline of Indian agrarian society. The thriving agrarian economy requires water for irrigation and the need for resources to the evolution of indigenous technology through generations of communities. Kuhl irrigation system of Kangra is a community managed traditional irrigation systems found in western Himalayan. These are a centuries-old network of interconnected drainage channels that drain water from nearby khads (rivers) into the fields. The irrigation systems have codified customary laws, systems of collective action for maintenance and preservation and various traditional livelihoods. Kuhls of Kangra is a unique case where the community is owned and managed kuhls exist. There are kuhls where communities practice public water management practices, conflict resolution and where are the kuhls where public department has taken over kuhls. The paper explores kuhl irrigation systems in the current context of changing governance and physical structure of the kuhls. It can be seen as an example of a socio-ecological system and further comments on the resilience of the socio-ecological system. In the paper it looks at external challenges such as ecological, socio-political and economic, and provides a framework for the development of local interventions for water resource management.