Water oak provides cover, food, and habitat for wildlife. Water oak acorns have 4.9 percent crude protein, 17.6 percent crude fiber, and 21.1 percent crude fat which makes them high in energy. Water oak is frequently used to restore bottomland hardwood forests in the Southeast on land that was previously cleared for agriculture or pine plantations. Water oak performed well when planted on fill slopes in Decatur County, Tennessee. Trunk canker and heart rot are caused by a variety of organisms.
Water oak is highly susceptible to air pollution, especially sulfur dioxide.
Water oak has great potential for fiber production on sites to which it is specifically adapted. Competing vegetation and destruction of acorns by squirrels and chipmunks are the biggest problems associated with direct seeding. Nutria uproot and eat seedlings.