Based on the driving force-pressure-state-impact-response (DPSIR) model, 19 indicators were selected to construct a comparison between Zhuhai and Macao, two adjacent cities at the estuary of the Pearl River in China, which have different development models and water resource sustainable development strategies. Factors that may affect the sustainability of water resources were screened and placed according to the relationships of the five subsystems in the DPSIR model, establishing a sustainable evaluation model for water resources in the two cities. The results analyzed by Principal Component Analysis and Entropy methods showed that (1) Zhuhai City was greatly affected by the driving force, while Macao was greatly affected by the state system from 2012 to 2021. (2) From the trend changes, it can be seen that, in recent years, the water resources of the two cities have been moving towards sustainable development, and the management and protection of water resources have achieved remarkable results. From the evaluation results, it can be seen that implementing urban water-saving activities, strengthening the proportion of environmental water conservancy, public measures in public investment, upgrading sewage treatment machinery to improve sewage treatment rates, and other measures can effectively improve the current situation of water resources in both regions. In the future, the Zhuhai and Macao cities may continue to face a series of water resource pressures brought on by socio-economic developments. Therefore, an active adjustment of the development of the measurement of controlling wastewater discharge and saving water resources was proposed, adhering to the direction of sustainable development, and ensuring the benign development of socio-economic conditions and the ecological environment. This study can provide data to support regional water resource security and policy formulation with different political systems.

Anthropogenic activities have had a great impact on the characteristics of watershed pollution. The Pearl River basin is the third largest river in China, but it has been affected by eutrophication impact for a long time. This study comprehensively evaluated the nutrient pollution characteristics of the Pearl River basin from 2016 to 2018. The result shows that the ratio of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP), TN/TP was 24.7 of the Pearl River basin, which indicated that phosphorus was the restrictive factor for eutrophication problems. The limitation of TP maybe caused that TN is difficult to decrease through denitrification and nitrification. The fluxes of TN and TP remained stable in recent 20 years, and the flux of TN and TP transferred from the Pearl River basin to the ocean was 6.86×105 and 2.84×104 t in 2017, respectively. The Pearl River estuary had the largest discharge, accounting for more than 40% of the Pearl River basin. The TN in the West River and North River had a high pollution load, while TP pollution in the East River was very serious. It is necessary to establish an effective mechanism to control nitrogen and phosphorus. A large amount of nitrogen and phosphorus caused the decrease of dissolved oxygen (DO) and the increase of chemical oxygen demand (COD), which aggravated eutrophication. This study of nutrient elements fluxes and distribution in the Pearl River Basin are one of the important prerequisites for clarifying the causes of eutrophication, providing data and theoretical support for further water pollution control and water environmental protection in the future, and also providing a basis for pollution control decisions.

Human activities have greatly influenced the inputs and cycling pathways of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), causing dramatic environmental problems in the Pearl River Basin. In this study, the characteristics of net anthropogenic nitrogen and phosphorus inputs (NANI/NAPI) were analyzed in the Guangdong section of the Pearl River Basin from 2016 to 2020. NANI showed a very slight decrease trend from (1.51 ± 0.09) × 10⁴ to (1.36 ± 0.08) × 10⁴ kg·N·km⁻²·yr⁻¹, while the average intensity of NAPI was 3.8 × 10³ kg·P·km⁻²·yr⁻¹. Both NANI and NAPI intensities were at high levels, resulting in the serious deterioration of water quality in the Pearl River Basin. Fertilizer input was the most important component for the intensities of NANI and NAPI, accounting for 38–42% and 53–56%. However, in the Pearl River Delta, the major components of NANI and NAPI were the human and animal consumption (food/feed) inputs and non-food net phosphorus input. The input of NANI and NAPI should be controlled for different areas, based on the differing driving forces, to alleviate the deterioration of water quality. This study of NANI and NAPI in the Pearl River Basin is one of the important prerequisites for clarifying the input and water quality, providing support for further effective control of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the Pearl River.