Deltaic systems are composed of distributary channels and interdistributary islands. While previous work has focused either on the channels or on the islands, here we study the hydrological exchange between channels and islands and point at its important role in delta morphology and ecology. We focus our analysis on Wax Lake Delta in coastal Louisiana (USA) and characterize the surface water component of hydrological connectivity through measurements of water discharge and hydraulic tracer propagation. We find that deltaic islands are zones of significant water flux as 23–54% of the incoming distributary channel flux enters the islands. A calculation of the travel times through a channel‐island complex shows travel times through the islands to be at least 3 times their channel counterparts. A dye release experiment also indicates that travel times in islands are much longer that those within channels as dye remained in the island for the 3.8 day duration of the experiment. Additionally, islands are more sensitive than channels to environmental forces such as tides, which cause flow reversal and thus can increase travel times through the islands. Our work defines the “hydrological network” of a river delta to include not only the distributary channel network but also the interdistributary islands, quantifies the implications of channel‐island hydrological connectivity to travel times through the system, and discusses the relevance of our findings to channel mouth dynamics at the delta front and the potential for denitrification in coastal systems.

At a global scale, delta morphologies are subject to rapid change as a result of direct and indirect effects of human activity. This jeopardizes the ecosystem services of deltas, including protection against flood hazards, facilitation of navigation, and biodiversity. Direct manifestations of delta morphological instability include river bank failure, which may lead to avulsion, persistent channel incision or aggregation, and a change of the sedimentary regime to hyperturbid conditions. Notwithstanding the in‐depth knowledge developed over the past decades about those topics, existing understanding is fragmented, and the predictive capacity of morphodynamic models is limited. The advancement of potential resilience analysis tools may proceed from improved models, continuous observations, and the application of novel analysis techniques. Progress will benefit from synergy between approaches. Empirical and numerical models are built using field observations, and, in turn, model simulations can inform observationists about where to measure. Information theory offers a systematic approach to test the realism of alternative model concepts. Once the key mechanism responsible for a morphodynamic instability phenomenon is understood, concepts from dynamic system theory can be employed to develop early warning indicators. In the development of reliable tools to design resilient deltas, one of the first challenges is to close the sediment balance at multiple scales, such that morphodynamic model predictions match with fully independent measurements. Such a high ambition level is rarely adopted and is urgently needed to address the ongoing global changes causing sea level rise and reduced sediment input by reservoir building.