Fresh water is vital for human life and for the economic, cultural, and social development. Climate change, increasing growth, urbanization, and an unsustainable economic model have undermined its quality, quantity, and degraded ecosystems, exacerbating competitiveness and social conflicts. The European Union, the Scientific Community, and part of the civil society highlighted that a shift of thinking and approaching is needed. In an already ecologically impoverished world, restoring ecosystem functions may be the only form of investment in a sustainable longer-term future. Bringing together sustainability and justice is crucial to achieve an effective water management. Through the lens of Environmental Justice, this research analyses four river restoration projects in Europe, investigating: how and why these projects are developed, the stakeholders’ and local knowledge involvement, the benefits and costs distribution, the cultural values that guide the action, and how the dimensions of justice are integrated from the perspective of civil society.