The paper references case histories of failures caused by water pressure and reviews the safety provisions related to water pressure in some existing geotechnical codes. It discusses the provisions of Eurocode 7 and the way they are currently being interpreted and applied in individual countries. Seven examples that were discussed in the workshop on Eurocode 7 in Pavia, 2010, are considered in more detail in order to illustrate alternative approaches. The authors attempt to identify the common features of approaches to water pressure that provide a sound rational basis for design in problems in which water pressures are a major concern.