Water culture is an important part of excellent traditional Chinese culture. The water conservancy cultural and creative industry can effectively play the butterfly effect of “small cultural and creative industry and big culture dissemination”, and plays an important role in promoting the innovation and development of water culture. On the basis of analyzing the dialectical relationship between the construction of water culture in the new era and the development of water cultural and creative industry, and summarizing the opportunities and challenges for the development of water cultural and creative industry under the new situation, and guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, this article outlines that the overall idea of promoting the development of water cultural and creative industry should be aimed at enhancing cultural self-confidence, adhering to the unity of social and economic benefits, deeply rooted in water conservancy work in the new era, and fully demonstrating the image of China, and the specific development path should include exploring the connotation of water culture, improving the industrial chain, and building water cultural and creative brands. And from the grasping of the “seven efforts”, encouraging the traditional publicity and publishing units of water conservancy to carry out cultural and creative business, introducing social capital, formulating relevant support policies, cultivating talent teams, creating highlight cases and so on, this article puts forward countermeasures and suggestions to ensure the healthy development of water cultural and creative industry.