Sustainable evaluation of the water footprint in Heilongjiang Province, China, based on correlation-matter element analysis

Heilongjiang Province, China, has been facing a perennial water shortage problem, and the demand for water is increasing year by year, leading to water supply difficulties and reduced water carrying capacity, which restricts the sustainable development of the region. In this paper, a water footprint (WF) sustainability evaluation system was constructed based on three dimensions: environmental, social, and economic. The correlation was used to calculate the weights of the indicators, reducing the influence of human subjectivity on the weights, and the matter element model was used to determine the sustainability of the different indicators and the ease of development to a high sustainability level. The results showed that the WF was unsustainable in 2000, 2001, 2007, and 2008 due to factors such as dry water years and low water use efficiency. The main factors affecting the sustainability of the WF in Heilongjiang Province were the per capita WF, WF composition, and regional social situation. The sustainability level of the WF in Heilongjiang Province in 2018 was at Level II, with a trend toward Level III, and the unsustainable WF in the cities of Harbin, Jixi, Hegang, Qitaihe, and Suihua was the main reason for the unsustainable WF in Heilongjiang Province. The results of this study provide a reference for the rational allocation of water resources and the sustainable use of the WF in Heilongjiang Province.