Abstract: With population growth and economic development, the pressure on natural environment has increased significantly, and water, which is closely related to human survival, bears the brunt. It is of great significance to evaluate water, a natural resource that human beings depend on for survival. According to the hydrological and socio-economic development data of Hubei Province from 2005 to 2018, we analyzed the interannual changes of ecological footprint of water resources, ecological carrying capacity, ecological surplus/deficit, water resource load index and ecological footprint of 10,000 yuan GDP in Hubei Province using the ecological footprint method. We also discussed the spatial distribution characteristics of water ecological footprint in Hubei Province in three typical years (high flow, flat and low flow years). Results demonstrated that the ecological footprint of water resources in Hubei Province had been on the rise from 2005 to 2018; the ecological carrying capacity of water resources displayed large interannual change rather than significant increase or decrease trend; ecological surplus was observed from 2005 to 2018; the water resource load index presented large inter-annual change; the ecological footprint of 10,000 yuan GDP showed a downward trend year by year. In spatial scale, the water resource load index was high in Wuhan, Xiangyang, and Xiaogan, but low in Enshi, Xianning, and Shennongjia, implying that despite abundant water resources which could afford sustainable development, the distribution among regions was uneven, posing large pressure on industrial cities.

Key words: water resources, ecological footprint, water pollution, ecological surplus, spatial distribution, Hubei Province