This paper provides a review of the changing nature of the water–energy nexus in urban water supply systems (UWSSs) due to the primary long-term drivers of climate change, population growth and technological development from the ‘energy for water’ perspective. We identify both the physical changes in UWSSs, as well as the changes in the attributes of the system, both of which contribute to the changing nature of the water–energy nexus. We provide an overview of responses to this change in the water–energy nexus through the lens of four application areas, namely long-term planning, system design, system operation and system rehabilitation, based on the review of 52 papers