IWA has its roots in the International Water Supply Association (IWSA), established in 1947, and the International Association on Water Quality (IAWQ), which originally formed as the International Association for Water Pollution Research in 1965.
IWA的前身是國際供水協會（IWSA）成立於1947年；國際水質協會（IAWQ），原本作為國際交流協會在1965年對水的污染研究形成有其根源。