Evaluation of water resources utilization in Taizhou City, Jiangsu Province from perspective of water footprint

With the rapid development of economy and increasing urbanization rate, the phenomenon of water resources pollution and shortage in the city is becoming more and more serious.Therefore, it is important to study the relationship between urban water resources utilization and economic growth.Based on the water footprint calculation model, this paper analyzed the actual water resources occupation and water footprint structure of Taizhou City from 2013 to 2020,and studied the ecological security of water resources and the relationship between water resources utilization and economic growth based on the evaluation index of water resources utilization and economic decoupling theory.The results showed that(1) Among the agricultural virtual water volume of Taizhou City, the virtual water content of food crops was large and that of cash crops was small, and the virtual water content of the selected ten crops had different trends.In livestock products, the virtual water content of pork, poultry meat, poultry eggs and fresh water products is high, while the virtual water content of beef, mutton and dairy products is low.(2) The water footprint of Taizhou City showed a downward trend.The per capita water footprint is significantly higher than the national level.The composition of water footprints is significantly different, with agriculture having the largest water footprint, and domestic, industrial, ecological and trade water footprints decreasing in turn.(3) From the evaluation indicators, it was concluded that Taizhou had a high water shortage index and pressure index, faced a relatively severe water shortage crisis, and water resources utilization was in a state of weak sustainable development.(4) The state of water resources utilization and economic growth was relatively decouple-quality coordinated development in 2013～2015,strongly decouple-quality coordinated development in 2016～2018,undecouple-uncoordinated development in 2019,and strongly decouple-quality coordinated development in 2020.The research results can provide a reference for the utilization and development of water resources in Taizhou City.