In the title compound, [Cu(C(4)H(5)O(4))(H(2)O)](n), the imino-diacetate (ida) ligands link the Cu(II) atoms into polymeric zigzag chains running along [010]. Each Cu(II) ion is five-coordinated in a distorted square-pyramidal geometry by one N and two O atoms from an ida ligand, one O atom from the neighbouring ida ligand and one water O atom. In the crystal, the polymeric chains are held together via inter-molecular O-H⋯O and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.