A water gathering and distribution system and related techniques for operating in freezing environmental conditions are disclosed. The system may include a water diverter unit or a water flow regulation unit configured to receive water from a water source situated at a location that is remote, inaccessible (or difficult to access), and/or experiences freezing environmental conditions and to deliver a controlled volume of that water for downstream use. The system further may include a water supply unit configured to receive that water and to supply it to downstream snowmaking equipment. In some instances, the supply unit also may cool the water to a temperature suitable, for example, for snowmaking. In a general sense, the disclosed system may be considered modular, in that multiple system components may be placed in flow communication with one another, as desired, to provide a distributed network of water collection and distribution elements.