Regional Water Footprint Assessment: A Case Study of Leshan City

This paper presents an assessment of urban water footprint in the period of 2001 to 2012 by taking Leshan City, China as a typical case study. The water footprint is calculated by the sum of the water footprints of various sectors, i.e., crop production, animal products, industrial processes, domestic waster, eco-environment, and virtual water trade. Results show that the water footprints of the various sectors rose by degrees varying from 19% to 55%, which gave rise to an increase of the total water footprint of 43.13% from 2001 to 2012. Crop production and animal products are identified as the major water intensive sectors, accounting for about 68.97% of the total water footprint. The water footprint in the Northeastern area of Leshan City is greater than that of the Southwestern area in the period 1992–2012, resulted in an expansion of water footprint in the Sha Wan and Wu Tongqiao Districts due to the development of urbanization. The application of water footprint assessment is expected to provide insight into the improvement of urban water efficiency, and thus aid in better water resources management