Water Footprint Perspective Research Articles

Water pollution control promotes sustainable water use in Yangtze River Economic Belt——from water footprint perspective

Water pollution control promotes sustainable water use in Yangtze River Economic Belt——from water footprint perspective

Development of a method to assess synergy and competition for water use among water-energy-food nexus in the Yellow River basin: Water quantity-quality dimensions

Water, as an indispensable component of the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus, plays a pivotal role in shaping its stability and safety. The competition for water between the food and energy systems is accentuated in the concept of the nexus. However, existing quantitative frameworks and assessment mechanisms have limitations as they often neglect to consider water quality in water competition within the WEF nexus. Therefore, a WEF nexus synergy and competition assessment method was proposed by coupling water footprint theory and the Lotka-Volterra model in this paper. This method establishes two scenarios based on the water footprint perspective, namely, water quantity and water quality-quantity. It effectively addresses the deficiencies in quantitative analysis of WEF system trade-offs and synergies. To illustrate the application of the method, this study conducted a case study in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) of China, evaluating the complex competitive and synergistic mechanisms of water use in the energy and food industries. Compared to the water quantity scenario, the results reveals that the inclusion of gray water footprint intensifies the competition for water in the food and energy industries in the YRB from 2000 to 2020, particularly in resource-based and economically developed cities. The spatial distribution characteristics of water resource competition and synergy in the YRB’s WEF system align with WEF endowment and economic technology levels. To address water conflicts in the WEF nexus and enhance nexus security, this study proposes a regulatory pathway for WEF system synergistic security based on two aspects (water competition and synergy characteristics and resource endowment). It contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of water competition and synergy in the WEF nexus and provides valuable insights for resource management.

The evolution trend, regional differences, and influencing factors of sustainable development efficiency in rural China under the constraint of water and energy

AbstractWater and energy are not only the foundation of high‐quality development in rural areas but also important constraints. Exploring the inner relationship between water, energy, and economic development has important significance for the high‐quality development in rural areas. This paper first constructs the evaluation index system of high‐quality development in rural areas, and quantifies high‐quality development levels in rural China from 1997 to 2021. Second, from the perspective of water footprint, the Super‐slack based measure model is used to calculate sustainable development efficiency under the constraint of water and energy. Finally, kernel density function, Gini coefficient method, and Tobit model are used to explore the evolution trend, regional differences, and driving factors of sustainable development efficiency in rural China. The results show that: (1) Under the constraint of water and energy, sustainable development efficiency in rural China is relatively low, showing a fluctuating trend of first rising and then declining. The efficiency in the western and eastern regions is higher than the national average, while the central region is the lowest. (2) The evolution trend of sustainable development efficiency in rural China, both the eastern and the western regions, shows the characteristics of “decreasing efficiency and weak polarization phenomenon,” while the central region shows the characteristics of “decreasing efficiency and no polarization phenomenon.” (3) The regional differences illustrate a fluctuating upward trend, which is mainly caused by the hypervariable density, followed by the differences among provinces in the eastern region. (4) Economic development, opening up, and rural marketization are the main factors.

Green, blue and economic water productivity: a water footprint perspective from the Upper Awash Basin, Central Ethiopia

Abstract The rise in global freshwater consumption, inefficient water use and population growth are the main drivers of water scarcity and food insecurity. This study analyzed the green, blue and economic water productivity (GWP, BWP and EWP, respectively) of the rainfed (teff, maize and sorghum) and irrigated (sugarcane) crops along with green water scarcity (GWS) in the Upper Awash Basin using water footprints (WFs) approaches. Teff has the lowest average GWP (∼0.3 kg/m3) and the highest average WF (4205 m3/ton) between 2000 and 2010 with an average EWP of ∼0.3 USD/m3 which is higher than those of other rainfed cereal crops (maize and sorghum). The highest GWS of maize was recorded in Metehara (269 mm/growing period) and the lowest in Debrezeit (70 mm/growing period) with an intermediate value of 90 and 117 mm in Wonji and Melkassa, respectively. All the rainfed crops have lower EWP (less than 0.3 USD/m3) compared with the irrigated sugarcane in the basin. This study demonstrates that increasing the value per unit of green/blue water through increasing yield per unit of supply and switching from high to low WFs crops has significant implications for addressing the water scarcity problem by setting a WP benchmark in the basin.

The effect of sectoral differentiated water tariff adjustment on the water saving from water footprint perspective: A case study of Henan Province in China

Water price reform is an effective way of rationalizing and protecting water resources in areas where water is scarce. This paper first presents a method for measuring water footprint by sector based on the non-competitive input-output technique. Second, this research explores the relationship between water price adjustment and labor compensation, as well as regional water export. Accordingly, this paper constructs a mathematical planning model for differentiated water price adjustment by sector with the objectives of minimum water exports and maximum labor rewards, and conducts a simulation study in the water-scarce Henan Province. The study's findings suggest that: (1) In contrast to direct water use, water consumption in Henan Province is more balanced in terms of water footprint, with the food and tobacco processing industry replacing agriculture as the leading water consumption sector. (2) Sectoral differentiated pricing saves 6.9% more export water resources in Henan Province than uniform sector-wide pricing with the same export GDP loss. (3) At present, the industries in Henan Province that are in urgent need of increased water charges are agriculture, textile industry, Manufacture of leather, Processing of timber and furniture, Manufacture of paper and printing, and Manufacture of chemical products these totals 6 industries. An increase of $1.73, $4.87, $38.55, $51.20, $5.83 and $6.55 per cubic meter in the water price of these six industries can reduce the export water resources of Henan Province by 10.72%. As a result, our findings can be used to optimize water allocation and improve sustainable water use in water-scarce regions.

Structural optimization of sectoral exports from the perspective of water footprint: A study from Henan Province, China

Abstract Water used for production is the primary consumer of regional water. Water footprint reflects the actual water consumption of each product, which can reflect the intensity of water consumption of each production sector and the flow of water resources implied in the product trade. In this paper, the water footprint of each sector in Henan Province in 2017 was calculated using non-competitive input-output techniques. Furthermore, a dual-objective planning model that minimizes water resource export and maximizes labor compensation was established, based on which the export structure of the sector in the province was optimized. Research findings show that agriculture is the primary consuming sector of water resources from the direct water use perspective. In comparison, the food processing industry is the major consuming sector of water resources from the water footprint perspective. The difference in water resources consumed by sectors from the perspective of water footprint is smaller than that from the perspective of direct water use. Second, most water-intensive sectors have a relatively large water footprint of out-of-province use, which results in 52.75% of Henan Province's produced water being consumed outside the province. Third, the current export structure adjustment of sectors in Henan Province can achieve a Pareto improvement of water conservation and economic development. It is expected to save 14.65% of the province's export water resources and increase Henan Province's total exports by 170.61 billion (170.61 × 109) yuan and increase labor compensation by 39.76 billion yuan. This study can be used to optimize water allocation and improve sustainable water use in water-scarce regions.

Impact of urban and rural food consumption on water demand in China—From the perspective of water footprint

With the rapid development of society and economy, changes happened dramatically in the food consumption and structure among Chinese residents. This paper analyzes the impact of residents' food consumption on water resources in China from the perspective of water footprint (WF), which is important to promote water conservation from the consumption side. After calculating the WFs of urban and rural residents' food consumption, the paper explored the drivers of WFs through the extended Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model, and then scenario analysis was applied to investigate how to reduce water depletion of food consumption in China. The results showed that (1) There were increasing trends in the per capita WFs of urban and rural residents' food consumption from 2000 to 2020, and the per capita WFs in urban were higher than that of rural. (2) Between 2000 and 2020, the total WFs of urban residents' food consumption had risen by 370.20 billion m 3 , while the total WFs had decreased from 407.20 billion m 3 to 310.64 billion m 3 in rural as urbanization increased. (3) Consumption quantity and population size were the main factors driving the changes in WFs of food consumption between urban and rural residents. (4) Under the scenarios of baseline, consumption upgrading, and saving food, an upward tendency could be observed in the WFs of rural residents' food consumption, while the WFs were expected to peak around 2030 in urban. This paper argued that it was possible to achieve the goal of reducing water depletion by controlling the food consumption of urban and rural residents. Under these conditions, this paper proposes to develop a water-saving consumption pattern in terms of optimizing the dietary structure and advocating food conservation between urban and rural residents.

Comprehensive analysis of water resources from the perspective of water footprint and water ecological footprint: a case study from Anyang City, China.

Agriculture is the largest freshwater consumer, accounting for ~ 70% of global freshwater consumption. The agricultural water footprint (WF) and water resources ecological footprint (EFw) are used to describe the ecological environment and socioeconomic functions of water resources. Anyang in the North China Plain is a typical area with freshwater shortage and was selected as a study area to estimate water consumption by agriculture. We estimated the spatiotemporal variation of green, blue, and grey WF of five crops in Anyang during 1990-2018 based on the WF theory, EFw, and water resources carrying capacity (ECw) methods. To analyze the EFw of specific crops, we developed the framework between agricultural WF and EFw, and quantified the EFw of specific crops. The results show that the WFgreen, WFblue, and WFgrey of Anyang increased from 1188, 1560, and 511 million m3 in 1990 to 1440, 1736, and 1010 million m3 in 2018, respectively, mainly owing to the increase of cultivated area and amount of agricultural nitrogen. Winter wheat and maize were the two leading crops in both green and blue water consumption, taking 31.35 and 55.25% of the total WFgreen, and 71.32 and 22.52% of the total WFblue, respectively. The average unit mass WFgreen and WFblue of crops showed a reducing trend during 1990-2018 because of the urbanization of farmland and the increase of crop yields. Both ECw and water ecological deficit per capital in Anyang decreased. Anyang has been in a state of water ecological deficit since 2000. The results imply that Anyang has been importing a large amount of water from other areas for its consumption since 2000. This study is expected to contribute to agricultural water management by providing suitable information to policy-makers. Furthermore, the results of this study indicate that it is urgent to make strict water resource management and water pollution prevention measures to improve the water use efficiency in Anyang and to ease the pressure on water scarcity.

Seeking sustainable pathway of crop production by optimizing planting structures and management practices from the perspective of water footprint

Water shortage threatens sustainable agriculture and food security globally. The Huanghuaihai Plain plays a critical role in ensuring China's food security, but at the expense of groundwater quantity and quality. Approaches that integrate crop production and environmental goals offer promise for achieving more sustainable water management in agriculture, yet little work has been done to link potential solutions with planting structure and resource management. The spatiotemporal variation of water footprint, water scarcity footprint, and green water occupancy rate for seven major crops, and the sustainability index and reduction potential of ten targeted reduction scenarios across 486 counties were quantitatively assessed in the Huanghuaihai Plain during 1985–2015. Total and gray water footprints dramatically increased by 59.5 % and 446.8 % from 1985 to 2015, respectively. The water scarcity footprint increased from 43.3 × 109 to 49.9 × 109 m3 and green water occupancy rate decreased from 37.8 % to 36.1 %. Among the single measures, reducing nitrogen input or its leaching would have the optimal reduction potential in WFtotal (reduced by 5.5–11.0 %), while adjusting planting structure would have the best sustainable performance. More importantly, the areas with the greatest reduction potential in blue water footprint by deficit irrigation and adjusting planting structure were located in the southeastern and middle parts of the plain, respectively, suggesting that differentiated strategies are required for regional water sustainability. The findings provide not only integrated approaches to inform targeted water management decision making in the Huanghuaihai Plain, but also best practices that may be applicable to other regions facing similar resource concerns.

Study on the Relationship between Water Resources Utilization and Economic Growth in Tarim River basin from the Perspective of Water Footprint

Taking the Tarim River basin as the research object, the water footprint was calculated based on the water footprint theory based on the relevant data from 2008 to 2019, and the water resource evaluation system was constructed to analyze the water footprint and water resource utilization of the Tarim River basin from three levels of structure, benefit, and ecology. Based on the water footprint theory, the annual water footprint and GDP of Tarim River basin were used to construct the Tapio decoupling model, and the decoupling type between water resources utilization and economic growth was obtained. The relationship between water resource utilization and economic growth in Tarim River was analyzed by combining the decoupling type evaluation and water footprint evaluation. The internal benefit is poor, and the external benefit is good; The degree of water resource shortage is on the rise, and the self-sufficiency rate of water resources is large. On the whole, the decoupling strength increases gradually. Decoupling strength has obvious industrial influence characteristics. Based on the above research conclusions, the sustainable economic and ecological development of the Tarim River basin can be realized from two aspects: reducing water footprint and strengthening decoupling intensity.

Water Footprint Inventory Construction of Cathode Copper Products in a Chinese Eco-Industry

Copper is an important strategic resource for the national economy and social security of China. Water use is a significant component of copper production. However, water shortages and water pollution are two global crises in water resource management. In this study, a copper production industry in China was studied from the perspective of water footprint (WF) and ecological industry (eco-industry). A WF inventory was built by accounting for the entire production and supply chain process, including mining, ore dressing, transportation, smelting, and electrolysis. An index system comprising target, criterion, and variable layers was established to evaluate the sustainable utilization of water resources. It was observed that the studied industry showed a good sustainability for water resource utilization. Only 65.67 tons of freshwater per ton of product was inputted in the entire process due to virtual water (VW) and the use of reclaimed water. However, the WF of each ton of cathode copper product was 162.58 t, and the imported VW of the eco-industry accounted for 92.45%. Increasing the VW import and reducing the VW export can alleviate water shortages. A detailed WF analysis showed that the effects of evaporation and different types of losses on the blue WF (BWF) were significant and should be considered. Upstream water consumption of electricity and other energy sources were also observed to be an important part of the BWF. Regardless of whether freshwater or recycled water was used, the WF can be reduced only by effectively reducing water consumption.

Insights into water sustainability from a grey water footprint perspective in an irrigated region of the Yellow River Basin

Water sustainability is imperative for socio-economic development. The grey water footprint (GWF) is a useful indicator for quantifying how human activities influence freshwater systems. This study identified the change in GWF for Yinchuan City, an agricultural region in the Yellow River Basin, by the validation of acquired water-quality data. The driving forces of the GWF were analyzed using the logarithmic mean division index (LMDI) decomposition method. The results indicated that the total GWF showed a declining trend during the study period between 2002 and 2017 within the range of 12.6–21.5 × 108 m3/yr. The agricultural GWF had a relatively stable contribution (30–40%), and the focus should be on the increased proportion of domestic sector in this irrigated region. Economic development and technology effects were the dominant negative and positive factors, respectively, behind the decline in GWF. Although the water pollution levels (0.06–0.12) indicating that the waste assimilation capacity was sufficient to take up the pollutant load, the effect of pollution load on groundwater was cause for concern based on the actual water-quality data. A significant increase in NO3–N in the phreatic water was detected between 2003 and 2013. The dominance of NH4–N for the water supply wells in confined aquifers hinted at the deteriorating water quality, which was attributed to the aquifer leakage under pumping conditions. This study better reflected the current water pollution situation by combining GWF with understanding of the hydrological cycle and the actual water-quality data. Findings in this study will be valuable for addressing water quality threats and to develop sustainability strategies for local authorities.

Water resources efficiency assessment in crop production from the perspective of water footprint

Reducing water use and relieving negative environmental consequences contribute to regional water and ecological sustainability. This work examined water resource efficiency (WRE) and the effects of effective crop water use from the perspective of the water footprint. WRE was defined as the ratio of consumptive field water use (CWU) to the total crop water footprint (CWF), including the blue water footprint applied (BWFA), green water footprint (GWF), and grey water footprint (GYWF). WRE for the cultivation of the main crops (rice, wheat, maize, beans, and tubers) produced in China during the period of 1996–2015 was determined from estimates of provincial CWFs and CWUs. The results show that national CWF was estimated as 678.5 Gm³, of which GWF comprised 55.1%; the national crop CWU was approximately 455.6 Gm³ in the period considered, and this included 82.1% green and 17.9% blue water. The spatial patterns of CWF and CWU densities differed greatly but were stable over time, with increasing trends exhibited from 1996 to 2015. The national WRE for crops was 0.672, and that for beans was 0.869, an efficiency larger than that of any other crop. The indices for rice and wheat were approximately 0.630. WRE cannot be replaced by the global efficiency (GEF) or generalized efficiency (GE) indices, either for scientific evaluations or for considerations of spatial distributions. This study aids in the evaluation of effective water resource consumption by considering the process of agricultural water use, and also the impact of crop production on water quality and quantity. Hence, WRE is an advanced indicator linking measurements of water footprint with assessments of crop management and the sustainability of regional water resources.

Physical versus economic water footprints in crop production: a spatial and temporal analysis for China

Abstract. A core goal of sustainable agricultural water resources management is to implement a lower water footprint (WF), i.e. higher water productivity, and to maximize economic benefits in crop production. However, previous studies mostly focused on crop water productivity from a single physical perspective. Little attention is paid to synergies and trade-offs between water consumption and economic value creation of crop production. Distinguishing between blue and green water composition, grain and cash crops, and irrigation and rainfed production modes in China, this study calculates the production-based WF (PWF) and derives the economic value-based WF (EWF) of 14 major crops in 31 provinces for each year over 2001–2016. The synergy evaluation index (SI) of PWF and EWF is proposed to reveal the synergies and trade-offs of crop water productivity and its economic value from the WF perspective. Results show that both the PWF and EWF of most considered crops in China decreased with the increase in crop yield and prices. The high (low) values of both the PWF and EWF of grain crops tended to cluster obviously in space and there existed a huge difference between blue and green water in economic value creation. Moreover, the SI revealed a serious incongruity between PWFs and EWFs both in grain and cash crops. Negative SI values occurred mostly in north-west China for grain crops, and overall more often and with lower values for cash crops. Unreasonable regional planting structure and crop prices resulted in this incongruity, suggesting the need to promote regional coordinated development to adjust the planting structure according to local conditions and to regulate crop prices rationally.

Water Use Efficiency and Sensitivity Assessment for Agricultural Production System from the Water Footprint Perspective

The increasing shortage of water resources and the growing demand for crops make water use efficiency a decisive factor for the sustainable and healthy development of the agricultural system. In order to evaluate agricultural water use efficiency from the water footprint perspective, the current study constructed the comprehensive water efficiency (CWE) index based on eight single agricultural water use efficiency performance parameters. The water resources utilization and efficiency in the wheat production system of China from 2006 to 2015 were analyzed and the sensitivity of single indices for CWE was identified. The results show that the national crop water footprint (CWF) for wheat production was estimated to be, including 46.3% blue, 36.6% green and 17.0% blue components, respectively. The spatial distribution patterns of water use efficiency performance indices were different. CWE of the country was 0.387, showing an upward trend over time and decreased from the southeast to the northwest geographically. Crop water productivity (CWP), productive water ratio (PWR) and rainwater consumption ratio (RCR) turned out to be the first three sensitive parameters for CWE in China. The improvement of China’s overall CWE relied on reducing inefficient blue-green water use and increasing the output capacity for per unit water. Advanced agricultural water-saving technologies were in high need for goal achievement, especially for the Huang-Huai-Hai plain, which held more than 70% of Chinese wheat production and CWF. The results provide support for efficient utilization and sustainable development of water resources in the agricultural system.

Research on the Decoupling of Water Resources Utilization and Agricultural Economic Development in Gansu Province from the Perspective of Water Footprint.

Objectively evaluating the decoupling status of water resources utilization and economic development is an important sign of judging the sustainability of regional economic development. From the perspective of water footprint (WF), this paper expands the scope of water resources accounting by assessing agricultural blue WF, green WF and gray WF. The Tapio decoupling index was used to explore the decoupling status of agricultural WF and economic development in Gansu Province from 2006 to 2015, and the logarithmic mean divisor index (LMDI) decomposition model was used to identify the main driving factors of agricultural WF changes and explore the degree of divergence between agricultural economic development and water resources utilization. The results showed that agricultural economic growth was a main factor for the increase of WF; the improvement of agricultural production technology had a restraining effect, and the population effect and structural effect had a lesser effect. During the research period, the relationship between agricultural WF and economic growth in Gansu Province changed from weak decoupling to strong decoupling, and the contributing factors to decoupling were in descending order: economic, technological, structural and population. Finally, this paper puts forward suggestions on optimizing planting structure, improving agricultural technology and economic development mode to promote the sustainable development of local agriculture.

Identification of key sectors of water resource utilization in China from the perspective of water footprint.

We identified the key sectors of water resource use in China from the perspective of the water footprint to improve the use of water resources. The empirical results showed that there were six key sectors (including Crop Cultivation; Forestry; Livestock and Livestock Products; Fishery, Technical Services for Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock and Fishing; Other Food Products, and Scrap and Waste) for water consumption in China in 2015.We analyzed the use of green water, blue water, and grey water. These six sectors accounted for 66.15% of the total impact and 90.76% of the direct impact. Seven key sectors (the six sectors above plus Steel Processing)for the consumption of blue water in China can explain 59.70% of the total impact and 86.94% of the direct effect in 2015. Eight key sectors (Crop cultivation, Other food products, Scrap and Waste, Railway Freight Transport, Highway Freight and Passengers Transport, Water Freight and Passengers Transport, Pipeline Transport, and Health Services) responsible for the consumption of grey water in China in 2015 can explain 81.28% of the total impact and 95.73% of the direct impact. Therefore, the Chinese government should focus on the departments that manage water resources in these sectors when designing water-saving policies and improving water-use efficiency, such as promoting water-saving irrigation technology (including sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation) in the agricultural sector.

Water Footprint Allocation under Equity and Efficiency Considerations: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China.

From a water footprint perspective, this paper adopts Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the influencing factor to construct a lexicographical optimization framework for optimizing water resources allocation under equity and efficiency considerations. This approach consists of a lexicographic allocation of water footprints (LAWF) model and an input-output capacity of water footprints (IOWF) model. The proposed methodology is then applied to allocate water resources in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) by employing the 2013 cross-sectional data in the area. The results show that: (1) The LAWF scheme signifies reductions in water footprints in each of the YREB administrative units, thereby significantly strengthening their IOWFs. (2) IOWFs are affected by industrial attributes and natural endowments, and the impact tends to vary across different industries and regions. (3) Policy suggestions are proposed to effectively enhance the IOWFs of the weakest industries across the three YREB regions to exploit their natural endowments.

Equitable Allocation of Blue and Green Water Footprints Based on Land-Use Types: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt

This paper develops a lexicographic optimization model to allocate agricultural and non-agricultural water footprints by using the land area as the influencing factor. An index known as the water-footprint-land density (WFLD) index is then put forward to assess the impact and equity of the resulting allocation scheme. Subsequently, the proposed model is applied to a case study allocating water resources for the 11 provinces and municipalities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB). The objective is to achieve equitable spatial allocation of water resources from a water footprint perspective. Based on the statistical data in 2013, this approach starts with a proper accounting for water footprints in the 11 YREB provinces. We then determined an optimal allocation of water footprints by using the proposed lexicographic optimization approach from a land area angle. Lastly, we analyzed how different types of land uses contribute to allocation equity and we discuss policy changes to implement the optimal allocation schemes in the YREB. Analytical results show that: (1) the optimized agricultural and non-agricultural water footprints decrease from the current levels for each province across the YREB, but this decrease shows a heterogeneous pattern; (2) the WFLD of 11 YREB provinces all decline after optimization with the largest decline in Shanghai and the smallest decline in Sichuan; and (3) the impact of agricultural land on the allocation of agricultural water footprints is mainly reflected in the land use structure of three land types including arable land, forest land, and grassland. The different land use structures in the upstream, midstream, and downstream regions lead to the spatial heterogeneity of the optimized agricultural water footprints in the three YREB segments; (4) In addition to the non-agricultural land area, different regional industrial structures are the main reason for the spatial heterogeneity of the optimized non-agricultural water footprints. Our water-footprint-based optimal water resources allocation scheme helps alleviate the water resources shortage pressure and achieve coordinated and balanced development in the YREB.

Groundwater nitrate contamination and agricultural land use: A grey water footprint perspective in Southern Apulia Region (Italy)

In this paper, we present a new approach based on the Grey Water Footprint (GWF) concept for the determination of groundwater nitrate contamination, with a focus on the agricultural impact in the Southern Apulia Region (Italy). The GWF assessment allows us to highlight wells where nitrate contamination is higher and for which a verification of the nature of contamination is necessary, potentially identifying certain contexts associated with risk factors present in the area. Data show higher nitrate GWF values for vineyards than for olive groves, particularly in areas used for the production of table grapes. Indeed, it is possible to observe that the Western Ionian-Tarantino arch is characterized by a high average level of the GWF indicator, area characterized by an agricultural land use (vineyards, orchards, simple arable land). Another important area is the Brindisi plain, predominantly characterized by an agricultural vocation and a related fertilizer use. The situation in the whole Salento peninsula is more heterogeneous. The results of the GWF show high values in equally distributed points with a clear frequency in the coastal areas of the Ionic arch (Eastern Tarantino and Salento). The Water Footprint methodology and in particular the GWF approach used in this study conceives a useful indicator for the agricultural policy planning processes, a criterion to establish land use management according to the status of hydrological basin and a tool for assessing the pollution monitoring programs.