This paper presents studies on the design of water hydraulic system and components to replace oil with tap-water as the pressure transmission medium in hydraulic systems. In order to improve the performance of water hydraulic system, the thermal and hydraulic properties of tap-water are first investigated. Based on these characteristics, the design parameters, such as the clearances of the moving parts, the cross-sectional area of pipes and relative roughness, are proposed so that the performance of water hydraulic system is the same as that of oil. In addition, the operating ranges, which show the possibility of using water hydraulic system, are examined.