The photodissociation dynamics of water in its first absorption band has been studied in detail by photolyzing room-temperature and jet-cooled Hz0 with an ArF excimer laser at 193 nm. The fate of the ejected OH( X ZH ) photofragments was probed by laser-induced fluorescence. The excess energy is transferred almost exclusively into translational motion of the products,f;=0.97. The rotational distribution depends strongly on the initial temperature. For warm water (T= 300 K), the rotational distribution can be described by a Boltzmann distribution with a temperature parameter of 400 K. No significant difference between the two A components, probed via Q and R, P lines, was observed. In the case of jet-cooled Hz0 the rotational distribution of the Hcomponent of the A doublets can be described by a temperature parameter of 330 K, that of the lI + component strongly deviates from a Boltzmann distribution. The A doublet population shows an increasing inversion with increasing Jou. The dissociation process does not distinguish between the two spin-orbit states and the spin is only a spectator in the dissociation process of Hz0 at 193 nm. These results are compared with observations of the photolysis of water at 157 nm.