The title compound, C5H11NO2·H2O, is an isomer of the α-amino acid valine that crystallizes from water in its zwitterion form as a monohydrate. It is not one of the 20 proteinogenic amino acids that are used in living systems and differs from the natural amino acids in that it has no α-H atom. The compound exhibits hydrogen bonding between the water mol-ecule and the carboxyl-ate O atoms and an amine H atom. In addition, there are inter-molecular hydrogen-bonding inter-actions between the carboxyl-ate O atoms and amine H atoms. In the crystal, these extensive N-H⋯O and O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds lead to the formation of a three-dimensional network.