We develop an effective field theory for dissipative fluids which governs the dynamics of gapless modes associated to conserved quantities. The system is put in a curved spacetime and coupled to external sources for charged currents. The invariance of the hydrodynamical action under gauge symmetries and diffeomorphisms suggests a natural set of dynamical variables which provide a mapping between an emergent "fluid spacetime" and the physical spacetime. An essential aspect of our formulation is to identify the appropriate symmetries in the fluid spacetime. Our theory applies to nonlinear disturbances around a general density matrix. For a thermal density matrix, we require an additional Z_2 symmetry, to which we refer as the local KMS condition. This leads to the standard constraints of hydrodynamics, as well as a nonlinear generalization of the Onsager relations. It also leads to an emergent supersymmetry in the classical statistical regime, with a higher derivative version required for the full quantum regime.