ABSTRACT
Water footprint studies may have various purposes and be applied in different contexts. Each purpose requires its own scope of analysis and will allow for different choices when making assumptions. One can assess the water footprint of different entities, so it is most important to start specifying in which water footprint one is interested. One can be interested, for instance, in the:
water footprint of a process step
water footprint of a product
water footprint of a consumer
water footprint of a group of consumers
water footprint of consumers in a nation
water footprint of consumers in a municipality, province or other administrative unit
water footprint of consumers in a catchment area or river basin
water footprint within a geographically delineated area
water footprint within a nation
water footprint within a municipality, province or other administrative unit
water footprint within a catchment area or river basin
water footprint of a business
water footprint of a business sector
water footprint of humanity as a whole
