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Jiaxing in Zhejiang province unveiled its "Industrial Water Use-Industry Correlation Index", a groundbreaking metric designed to gauge industrial economic performance through water consumption trends.

In recent years, Jiaxing's industrial water demand has surged with its economic growth. In 2024, the city recorded an industrial water usage of 508 million cubic meters, marking a 12.4 percent increase from 2020 levels, according to official figures.

Authorities from the Jiaxing water resources bureau explained that the new index was developed to enhance the toolkit for tracking industrial activity. The bureau conducted a five-year study of water usage data from nearly 3,000 industrial entities in the city — each consuming over 10,000 cubic meters annually — to craft this metric.

The index itself is an economic analysis tool rooted in a water-resource perspective. It comprises three key indicators: total water consumption, the number of water-using enterprises, and the number of new enterprises added in a given month. Expressed as a dimensionless relative figure, the index reflects the scale of water resources utilized by industrial activities in a specific region or sector over a defined period.

For instance, Jiaxing's 2024 index, using 2020 as the baseline year, registered at 107. This indicates a 7 percent expansion in water use by industrial enterprises compared to 2020.

Officials from the bureau elaborated that the index is segmented into five distinct zones — "overheated", "warming", "stable", "cooling", and "overcooled" — to denote varying levels of industry vitality. This nuanced classification aims to provide a clearer picture of economic health and industrial momentum.