In the structure of the polymeric title complex, {[Cu(C(3)H(6)NO(2))(C(10)H(8)N(2))]ClO(4)·H(2)O}(n), the carboxyl-ate group of the chelating amino acid is further linked to a neighbouring Cu centre, generating a supra-molecular single-stranded chain parallel to [010]. The structure displays inter-molecular N-H⋯O and O-H⋯O hydrogen bonding, which consolidates the crystal packing.