noun
Modern loanword from English 'backwater', used in contexts such as rowing, hydrology, or metaphorically for a stagnant situation. The cross-reference to バックウォーター suggests this is the primary modern usage.
See also: バックウォーター
この川の背水は、上流のダムの影響で水位が上がっている。
The backwater of this river has risen due to the upstream dam.
noun
standing with one's back to water
Archaic literal sense: a tactical position with water behind, leaving no retreat. Now mostly encountered in the set phrase 背水の陣 (はいすいのじん, 'burning one's boats; last stand').
「背水の陣」という言葉は、この背水の状況に由来する。
The phrase 背水の陣 derives from this situation of having one's back to the water.
The modern sense is a direct loan translation of English 'backwater'. The archaic sense is a native Japanese compound of 背 (back) and 水 (water), describing a tactical position with water at one's back.