High-resolution estimation of industrial water use in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei based on multi-source data

Abstract

Understanding changes in industrial water use at finer spatial scales is critical for regional water allocation and sustainability. This study employs a top-down method based on multi-source data to estimate the industrial water use at 1 km × 1 km resolution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region during 2000–2019. Statistical data from municipalities and prefectures are used to assess the accuracy of simulated industrial water use. During the validation period, all accuracy validation indices (R, NSE, |RE|, RMSE) have achieved good results, indicating that the method is credible. In addition, industrial water use at the county level in BTH has a strong spatial correlation with 99% confidence. Spatiotemporal change pattern mainly depends on the industrial scale and technical level of prefecture-level cities, and the economic environment will also contribute to changes in the annual industrial water use in BTH. The method provides a reference for high-resolution estimation of industrial water use and can also be applied to regional water management and allocation.