Water Resources Management System Research Articles

Divergent patterns of rainfall regimes in dry and humid areas of China

Monitoring the long-term dynamics of the wet season is important for both the current operation and future management of water resource systems. Wet seasons in China are substantially influenced by monsoons with great variability but are unknown. We conducted a comprehensive assessment of rainfall regimes in China between 1982 and 2020 using a modified anomalous accumulation method at the pixel level. We observed divergent patterns of “wet areas becoming drier, and dry areas becoming wetter” with rainfall amount and rainy days increasing in dry regions, and decreasing in humid regions. Wet seasons extend to dry areas and shorten in wet areas, with trends related to dryness. Simultaneously, as the dryness increased, the length, number, and cumulative number of dry days increased. Concurrent increases in rainy days and dry spells indicated a seasonal rainfall regime toward greater variations in drier areas, which was not entirely consistent with a global intensification pattern of “dry getting drier and wet getting wetter”, implying increased potential risks of both floods and droughts in dry areas. For climate risk prediction, water resource allocation, and agricultural management, we advocate a finer and more precise dynamic assessment of the wetting–drying pattern.

Natural streamflow reconstruction and quantification of hydrological drought in the Soan River basin, Pakistan

AbstractClimate change and rapid socioeconomic development have exacerbated the damage caused by hydrological droughts. To ensure effective drought defense and infrastructure development, it is essential to investigate variations in hydrological droughts. The primary objective of this study is to reconstruct the natural streamflow by using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological modeling. The hydrological drought at different time scales (1, 3, 6, and 12 months) were measured using the streamflow drought index (SDI). The statistical parameters, including Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency and the Coefficient of Determination, which yielded values of 0.84 and 0.82 during the calibration period and 0.78 and 0.76 during the validation period, respectively, showed a satisfactory SWAT model performance. Additionally, the Pettit test was used to identify a change point in streamflow within the 1991–2015 timeframe, leading to the division of the study period into two distinct phases: an undisturbed period (1991–1998) and a disturbed period (1999–2015). The SDI index‐based analysis revealed 9.39% moderate drought and 3.13% severe drought during the undisturbed period, while 11.76% moderate drought and 7.35% severe drought may happen due to the human influences that occurred in the disturbed period. These findings enhance the understanding of the hydrological drought variations in the Soan River basin for optimizing the water resources management system and effectively preventing and mitigating drought‐related damages.

Real-Time Evaluation of the Uncertainty in Weather Forecasts Through Machine Learning-Based Models

Meteorological events have always been of great interest because they have influenced everyday activities in critical areas, such as water resource management systems. Weather forecasts are solved with numerical weather prediction models. However, it sometimes leads to unsatisfactory performance due to the inappropriate setting of the initial state. Precipitation forecasting is essential for water resource management in semi-arid climate and seasonal rainfall areas such as the Ebro basin. This research aims to improve the estimation of the uncertainty associated with real-time precipitation predictions presenting a machine learning-based method to evaluate the uncertainty of a weather forecast obtained by the Weather Research and Forecasting model. We use a model trained with ground-truth data from the Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro, and WRF forecast results to compute uncertainty. Experimental results show that Decision Tree-based ensemble methods get the lowest generalization error. Prediction models studied have above 90% accuracy, and root mean square error has similar results compared to those obtained with the ground truth data. Random Forest presents a difference of -0.001 concerning the 0.535 obtained with the ground truth data. Generally, using the ML-based model offers good results with robust performance over more traditional forms for uncertainty calculation and an effective alternative for real-time computation.

From District to City Scale: The Potential of Water-Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD)

The summer of 2022 was one of the hottest and driest summers that Germany experienced in the 21st century. Water levels in rivers sank dramatically with many dams and reservoirs running dry; as a result, fields could not be irrigated sufficiently, and even power generation and supply were affected. The impact of abnormally high temperatures for extended periods (heatwaves) is not restricted to nature and the economy but is also a considerable public health burden. Experts worldwide agree that these extreme weather events are being driven by climate change and will increase in intensity and frequency in the future. The adverse impact of these extreme weather events multiplies among dense urban environments, e.g., through heat islands. This calls for cities to take action to heat-proof and water-secure their urban developments. Water-Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) is one such approach to mitigate the aforementioned challenges by leveraging the urban water ecosystem with special attention to the subject of water reclamation, retention, treatment and distribution. This paper introduces and builds upon a prototype of WSUD that centers around an artificial lake as an integrated water resource management system (IWRMS) fed by treated grey water and storm water obtained from two housing blocks flanking the water reservoir. Based on the specifications of this prototype, indicators of site suitability are derived and applied to identify potential locations for replicable projects in the city of Darmstadt. The results confirm the impact WSUD can have: a total of 22 sites with 2527 apartments are found suitable for prototype implementation in Darmstadt. Savings in town water consumption from these 22 sites would add up to 147 million liters. Further benefits include the provision of 24 million liters of irrigation water, storm water retention, adiabatic cooling during heatwave, increased biodiversity and the improvement in livability of the sites and the city.

A Systematic Analysis of Systems Approach and Flood Risk Management Research: Trends, Gaps, and Opportunities

Flooding is a global threat, necessitating a comprehensive management approach. Due to the complexity of managing flood hazards and risks, researchers have advocated for holistic, comprehensive, and integrated approaches. This study, employing a systems thinking perspective, assessed global flood risk management research trends, gaps, and opportunities using 132 published documents in BibTeX format. A systematic review of downloaded documents from the Scopus and Web of Science databases revealed slow progress of approximately 11.61% annual growth in applying systems thinking and its concomitant approaches to understanding global flood risk management over the past two decades compared to other fields like water resource management and business management systems. A significant gap exists in the application of systems thinking methodologies to flood risk management research between developed and developing countries, particularly in Africa, highlighting the urgency of reoriented research and policy efforts. The application gaps of the study methodology are linked to challenges outlined in existing literature, such as issues related to technical expertise and resource constraints. This study advocates a shift from linear to holistic approaches in flood risk management, aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2023 and the Sustainable Development Goals. Collaboration among researchers, institutions, and countries is essential to address this global challenge effectively.

Urban water resources management with energy constraint and carbon emission intensity under uncertainty: A dual objective optimization model

Water production, utilization and recycle in urban system associated with a large amount of energy consumption and carbon emission that has increasingly international attention under sustainable development goals. In this study, a comprehensive urban water resources system management model is proposed under water-energy-carbon nexus and multiple uncertainties. The water-energy-carbon nexus was reflected in the processes of water extraction, water production and sewage treatment, and two objectives of maximizing the system benefit and minimizing carbon emission is transformed into two linear programming problem through the dual-objective interval fractional programming. Considering the interaction among water supply/demand, pollutants discharge control, energy consumption and self-energy utilization, indirect carbon emission as the main constraints, the developed model is applied to a typical water and energy sources shortage area of Qingdao city in north China. Multiple scenarios related to energy consumption and carbon emission control are designed to search the relationship among energy consumption, carbon emission and water resources allocation schemes. The results indicated that water demand as the main driving factor of energy consumption and carbon emission in urban water system cannot be directly limited through water supply structure adjustment. Through introducing self-energy supply (sludge utilization) and energy consumption control, water resources allocation schemes and water supply structure would be changed to improve energy saving potential with an obvious decrease trend of carbon emission intensity from 0.7921 tCO2/MWh to 0.5544 tCO2/MWh. The model could effectively provide reasonable urban water system management strategies under different water allocation demands and carbon emission challenges scenarios and deal with multiple uncertainties in decision-making process.

How Does Agricultural Water Resources Management Adapt to Climate Change? A Summary Approach

This editorial paper takes the form of a concise report and delves into a critical and intricate issue essential for the sustainability of agriculture. It centers on the intricate relationship between agri-cultural water resource management and agronomical practices, as well as their ability to adapt to the impacts of climate change while ensuring both the quantity and quality of crop yields. Specifically, this paper serves as a synopsis of how the far-reaching consequences of climate change for water resources impact agricultural production. It also highlights primary adaptation strategies for managing agricultural water resources, as drawn from the existing literature. Such strategies are designed to counteract the potentially adverse impacts of climate change on the rural sector. Fur-thermore, this brief report offers a valuable overview of the 17 selected papers featured in this Special Issue (SI) on Water, published by MDPI. These papers serve as exemplars of cutting-edge approaches to adaptability in water resource management and resilient crop production systems, as these fields attempt to thrive in an ever-changing environmental landscape.

A Nonlinear Model for Evaluating Dynamic Resilience of Water Supply Hydropower Generation‐Environment Conservation Nexus System

AbstractUndesirable disturbances (e.g., extraordinary drought) are prone to cause cascading failures of water supply‐hydropower generation‐environment conservation (WHE) nexus system. Simulating a dynamic resilience of the nexus system can provide opportunities for pre‐disturbance effective prevention and post‐disturbance recovery from the cascading failures. Previous dynamic resilience simulating is often based on the linear assumption which is not applicable for the WHE nexus system that involves nonlinear processes. To improve simulation accuracy of the dynamic resilience of the WHE nexus system, a novel nonlinear dynamic resilience model that incorporates both a WHE nexus model and a second‐order Volterra (SOV) model is proposed. The WHE nexus model simulates amount of impact propagated by an original disturbance event on each subsystem, while the SOV model captures nonlinear relationship between the amount of impact and a corresponding dynamic resilience. The proposed model was applied to the Liuchong River Basin, China, under different dry year scenarios. The results show that the dynamic resilience simulated through the SOV model performs better than that through a first‐order Volterra model which is suitable for a linear system, with Nash‐Sutcliffe efficiencies of water supply, hydropower generation, and environment conservation subsystems increasing by 36.8%, 70.9%, and 17% respectively. Among the WHE nexus system, the water supply subsystem is found to be the least resilient. Moreover, the proposed nonlinear model is more suitable for simulating and predicting dynamic resilience when a severer water resources drought occurs. The proposed model helps to guide resilience management of water resource system by combining nexus and resilience thinking.

A NATIONAL POLICY ON INDONESIA’S INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT

Changes in global precipitation would affect Indonesia to improve its water resource management system. As most watersheds are in a critical stage nowadays, it is urgent to develop a new plan and policy on water conservation that integrates the most important parameters reasonably. It has the purpose of ensuring that water resources are available for all activities and purposes within the area, especially for future periods. Integrated Water Resources Conservation Management is one of the promising approaches that is being mainly developed, particularly through the participation of all stakeholders. This participation brings equal responsibility to protect and sustainably manage the water resources, which might differ from one area to another in Indonesia. This study shows that it is important to bring up local wisdom practices on water conservation management. These could help overcome the problems related to water management in different locations in Indonesia and encourage all the stakeholders to take responsibility. All the inputs from the stakeholders are very helpful to identify the strategy at the national level, and thus it would minimize the misinterpretation between local and national levels in terms of regulation or policy. Furthermore, the approach strategies provided in this paper could improve the water national policy in Indonesia and minimize the negative potential impacts due to the lack of precipitation in the upcoming years.

Type-2 fuzzy chance-constrained linear fractional programming model for a water resource management system: A case study of Taiyuan city, China

Abstract Uncertainties arising from extreme climate events and human activities pose a challenge to the efficient allocation of water resources. In this study, a type-2 fuzzy chance-constrained linear fractional programming (T2F-CCLFP) is developed to support the water resource management system under uncertainty by incorporating type-2 fuzzy sets, chance-constrained programming, and fractional programming into a comprehensive multi-objective optimization framework. The model enables the trade-off between economic, social, and environmental sustainability and provides water supply solutions associated with different levels of fuzzy uncertainty and risk of violating constraints. The T2F-CCLFP model is applied to Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China, to support its water resource management. Results reveal that: (i) the industrial structure is transitioning toward diverse industries from energy and heavy industry dominance; (ii) external water transfer will be the major water-supply sources for the city in the future, accounting for 55 and 50% of the total water supply in 2025 and 2030, respectively; (iii) the water-supply security of the city is enhanced by provoking the utilization of reclaimed water (the annual growth rate is 13.9%). The results are helpful for managers in adjusting the current industry structure, enhancing water supply security, and contributing to the sustainable development of socio-economic and water systems.

Optimisation of an integrated water resources management system for the Yellow River based on numerical simulation

Abstract With the development of digital information technology, the requirements for information technology in the management of the Yellow River are gradually increasing, and the application of information technology in the various operations of the Yellow River system is becoming more and more extensive. This paper firstly attempts to conduct an integrated study of the Yellow River water resources management system, integrating various business systems for water resources management and realizing the sharing of resources and information. Secondly, through numerical simulation, a numerical prediction model of water resources based on coupled atmosphere-hydrology-sediment environment and a numerical simulation system of hydrology-sediment is constructed to optimize the system of integrated water resources information and management of the Yellow River basin. Finally, the system is applied to the Yellow River basin, and its rationality is tested. The results show that in the dynamic water resources deployment experiment, the water resources utilization efficiency is 87.0%, which is 8.8% more efficient compared to the water resources system deployment before optimization, and the joint probability constraint and water resources utilization efficiency in the case are 0.01 and 79.6% respectively. In this paper, the system optimization of the integrated water resources management system of the Yellow River based on numerical simulation has improved the accuracy and real-time performance of water resources management, as well as the efficiency of water resources utilization, completing the integration and optimization of the integrated water resources management system of the Yellow River.

Environmental regulation and economic justification of integrated water resources management in the region

A study of ecological and economic approaches to the creation of a system of integrated integrated water resources management at the basin level is presented. As an example, the basin of the Kuyalnitsky estuary of the Odessa region is considered. To create a system of integrated management of the territory's water resources and assess individual components of the water balance, methodological economic and environmental approaches were used. The work used an ecosystem approach based on the notion that "nature is an equal partner". Water resources management took into account their significant transformation under the influence of water management, as well as operational data on the hydrometeorological characteristics of the Kuyalnitsky estuary. The results obtained show that the development of an integrated water resources management system should be based on a general calculation of all components of natural and anthropogenic influence, which allows balancing the assessment of water resources and developing a rational management system.

China's strictest water policy: Reversing water use trends and alleviating water stress

Growing water problems have promoted the Chinese government to implement the strictest water resources management system (SWRMS), the first national policy that puts into practice the concept of “safe operating space” for human water use. Here, we investigate the impact of the SWRMS on China's water use and water stress based on a newly compiled high-resolution and multi-sectoral water use dataset. Results indicate that China's total water use (TWU) increased significantly from 549 km3 yr-1 to 610 km3 yr-1 between 2000 and 2012 (i.e., the pre-SWRMS period), but decreased remarkably in the post-SWRMS period (2012–2020), reaching 565 km3 yr-1 by the year 2020. The decline in TWU was attributed to the improvements of irrigation and industrial water use efficiency (WUE), which were strictly controlled by the SWRMS at various administrative levels of China. The improved WUE has yielded about ∼90 km3 of water savings per year, freeing 17 prefectures from extreme water stress that affects 6% of China's population and 10% of its GDP. Although the improved WUE caused a significant decrease in TWU, the reduction in China's average water stress was insignificant due to the considerable influence of water availability. We further identified hotspots with great potential for water stress reduction, mainly in northwestern China, and hotspots at high risks of water security, primarily on the North China Plain. This study underscores the crucial role of the SWRMS in addressing China's water shortage and provides valuable insights to other countries grappling with water problems in defining their own “safe water operating spaces”.

Water Resource Management in Poland and Israel – Similarities and Differences

Abstract Objective The study explores water resource management, including identification of similarities and differences, in Poland and Israel, countries with divergent geographical histories — Poland, historically rich in wetlands, and Israel, originating from a desert landscape. The article presents the current state of research on the level of water resources in both mentioned countries, as well as water resources management systems and who is responsible for this area. Methodology The analysis is firmly grounded in data sourced from reputable secondary publications. This work draws extensively from scientific literature, including books, papers, and reports. In addition to data-driven insights, it incorporates comparative data analysis, which allows for a nuanced examination of trends and patterns. Furthermore, the inclusion of literature analysis and deductive reasoning provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the multifaceted aspects of the subject matter. This approach not only bolsters the credibility of the analysis but also enables a more robust and informed perspective on the topic at hand. The comparison between Poland and Israel was chosen due to our specific interests and the ongoing scientific collaboration of the authors. Additionally, both countries serve as intriguing case studies given their distinct approaches to water resource management. Poland and Israel hold a special significance as our homelands, affording us a deeper understanding of the local context and water-related challenges. On the other hand, Israel stands out for its reputation for efficient and innovative management of water resources, which piqued our research interests. The comparative analysis aimed to extract best practices and potential areas for further scholarly investigation in the realm of water resource management. Through this comparative examination, we hoped to derive insights that could be valuable, contributing to sustainable water resource management practices. Findings Poland is currently struggling with periodic and local water deficits, which will deepen due to ongoing climate change (Rączka et al., 2021, p. 8). This requires an immediate and coordinated action. Drawing on the experience of a nation like Israel, which has historically struggled with water scarcity, can provide invaluable insights needed to address this pressing crisis. Value Added A comparison of the practices of both countries, in this case Poland and Israel, as well as a comparative analysis of water resource management systems, will allow us to list practices that can be initiated to manage water resources more effectively. Recommendations The subject of water resource management is wide, especially as it belongs to many scientific fields. A broader research context is recommended; the authors made a comparative analysis considering selected reports on the management of water resources. It is a limiting perspective of the research; therefore, to approach the topic holistically, it is necessary to consider other research fields, as well as to deepen the analysis with other countries.

Water resources allocation considering water supply and demand uncertainties using newsvendor model-based framework

A novel newsvendor model-based framework for regional industrial water resources allocation that considers uncertainties in water supply and demand was proposed in this study. This framework generates optimal water allocation schemes while minimizing total costs. The total cost of water allocation consists of the allocated water cost, the opportunity loss for not meeting water demand, and the loss of the penalty for exceeding water demand. The uncertainties in water demand and supply are expressed by cumulative distribution functions. The optimal water allocation for each water use sector is determined by the water price, the unit loss of the penalty and opportunity loss, and the cumulative distribution functions. The model was then applied to monthly water allocation for domestic, industrial, and agricultural water use in two counties of Huizhou City, China, whose water supply mainly depends on Baipenzhu Reservoir. The water demand for each water use sector and the monthly reservoir inflow showed good fits with the uniform and P-III distributions, respectively. The water demand satisfied ratio for each water use sector was stable and increased for the optimal water allocation scheme from the newsvendor model-based framework, and the costs were lower compared with the actual water allocation scheme. The novel framework is characterized by less severe water shortages, lower costs, and greater similarity to actual water use compared with the traditional deterministic multi-objective analysis model, and demonstrates strong robustness in the advantages of lower released surplus water and higher water demand satisfied ratio. This novel framework yields the optimal water allocation for each water use sector by integrating the properties of the market (i.e., determining the opportunity loss for not meeting water demand) with the government (i.e., determining the water price and the loss of the penalty for exceeding water demand) under the strictest water resources management systems.

Predictive simulation and optimal allocation of surface water resources in reservoir basins under climate change

Predicting and allocating surface water resources are becoming increasingly important tasks for addressing the risk of water shortages and challenges of climate change, especially in reservoir basins. However, surface water resource management includes many systematic uncertainties and complexities that are difficult to address. Thus, advanced models must be developed to support predictive simulations and optimal allocations of surface water resources, which are urgently required to ensure regional water supply security and sustainable socioeconomic development. In this study, a soil and water assessment tool-based interval linear multi-objective programming (SWAT-ILMP) model was developed and integrated with climate change scenarios, SWAT, interval parameter programming, and multi-objective programming. The developed model was applied to the Xinfengjiang Reservoir basin in South China and was able to identify optimal allocation schemes for water resources under different climate change scenarios. In the forecast year 2025, the optimal water quantity for power generation would be the highest and account for ∼60% of all water resources, the optimal water quantity for water supply would account for ∼35%, while the optimal surplus water released from the reservoir would be the lowest at ≤5%. In addition, climate change and reservoir initial storage would greatly affect the surplus water quantity but not the power generation or water supply quantity. In general, the SWAT-ILMP model is applicable and effective for water resource prediction and management systems. The results from different scenarios can provide multiple alternatives to support rational water resource allocation in the study area.

Comparison between the WFD approaches and newly developed water quality model for monitoring transitional and coastal water quality in Northern Ireland

This study aims to evaluate existing approaches for monitoring and assessing water quality in waterbodies in the North of Ireland using newly developed methodologies. The results reveal significant differences between the new technique and the existing “one-out, all-out” approach in rating water quality. The new approach found the water quality status to be “good,” “fair,” and “marginal,” whereas the existing “one-out, all-out” technique classified water quality as “good,” and “moderate,” respectively. The new technique outperformed existing approaches in rating the water quality of different waterbody types, with high R2 = 1, NSE = 0.99, and MEF = 0 values. Furthermore, the final assessment of water quality using the new methodologies had the lowest uncertainty (<1 %), whereas the efficiency measures (NSE and MEF) indicate that the new approaches are bias-free to assess water quality at any geographic scale. The results of this study reveal that the newly proposed methodologies are effective in assessing the water quality states of transitional and coastal waterbodies in the North of Ireland. The study also highlighted the limitations of existing approaches and the importance of updating water resource management systems for better protection of these waterbodies. The findings have significant implications for water resource management and planning in the North of Ireland and other similar regions.

Groundwater Management for Agricultural Purposes Using Fuzzy Logic Technique in an Arid Region

The study aimed to determine groundwater’s suitability for irrigation and cattle rearing in Kuwait. In this regard, groundwater samples were collected from Umm Al Aish (UA) and adjoining Rawdhatain (RA) water wellfields to develop groundwater suitability maps for irrigation purposes using the fuzzy logic technique in ArcGIS. RA was dominated by Na-Cl, Na-Ca, and Ca-SO4 water types, whereas UA was dominated by the Ca-Mg water type. Due to the influence of the temperature and pCO2, the carbonates were inferred to be more susceptible to precipitation in the soil than the sulfates. The ternary plots for both regions revealed that the samples’ suitability ranged from good to unsuitable. Spatial maps of nine significant parameters governing the irrigation suitability of water were mapped and integrated using the fuzzy membership values for both regions. The final suitability map derived by overlaying all the considered parameters indicated that 8% of the RA region was categorized as excellent, while UA showed only 5%. Samples situated in the study areas showed an excellent to very satisfactory range for livestock consumption. Developing a monitoring system along with innovative water resource management systems is essential in maintaining the fertility of the soil and existing groundwater reserves.

Adaptive management of water resources system in the arid Aksu river basin, northwest China

Due to changing environments, the conflict between water supply and demand in arid northwest China is becoming increasingly prominent, resulting in the water security challenges and the need for risk management. Therefore, this study aimed at developing an adaptive management approach for the compound systems of water ecology and socioeconomics in the Aksu River Basin (ARB), a typical northwest arid watershed in China. This strategy aimed to reduce risk based on an adjusted water resource management system with the stringent controls (i.e., total water consumption, water use efficiency, and minimum ecological water satisfaction rate controls ‘three red lines’). The main findings are as follows: (1) Although the water resource system in the ARB is currently at low risk state, it could be subjected to higher risk levels in future scenarios. (2) An adjusted “three red lines” policy should be utilized to ensure adaptive management of risk in the water resource system. The corresponding coefficients for each “red line” was 8.37, 10.78, and 0.609, respectively. (3) Following a nonlinear multi-objective management, the vulnerability and risk decreased significantly, by −100% and −50%, respectively, whereas the resilience of the water resource system increased significantly, up to 330%. Therefore, adaptive water resource management is vital in reducing water resource risk, and is important for understanding the status of regional water resource systems and solving water security problems in a changing environment.

Analysis of the Decoupling State and Driving Effects of Economic Development and Production Water Use in Jiangsu Province, China

Identifying the evolutionary patterns and drivers of regional water use is a prerequisite for achieving the strictest water resource management system. This study used the Tapio-LMDI model to analyze the decoupling state and driving factors between economic development and production water use in Jiangsu Province from 2004 to 2020. The results show that: (1) From the evolution of the water use structure, the total water use in Jiangsu Province shows a decreasing trend from 2004 to 2020. Among them, the production water use decreased by 9.59%. From the characteristics of economic development (constant prices), the growth of Jiangsu’s gross regional product (GDP) from 2004 to 2020 reached 363%. (2) In terms of the decoupling status, economic development and production water use in Jiangsu Province underwent a “weak decoupling—strongly decoupling” transition and achieved “strongly decoupling” in 2020, with a decoupling elasticity coefficient of −2.30. (3) From the perspective of the decoupling drivers, the reduction in production effects has contributed to the decoupling between economic growth and water use in Jiangsu Province. By sector, the decline in the water use intensity effect and the industrial structure effect in the primary and secondary sectors were the main reason for the decline in its water use, while the increase in the industrial structure effect and economic scale effect of the tertiary sector has effectively contributed to the increase in water use in the tertiary sector. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve the water use efficiency of the primary and secondary sectors, accelerate the transformation and upgrading of the tertiary sector, and realize a “strongly decoupling” pattern between economic development and production water use in Jiangsu Province.