 The Heihar River Basin, HRB in northwestern China has experienced increasing water scarcity, leading to a need to quantify its water footprint, WF. This study found that the total WF of the HRB was 1,768 million cubic meters per year from 2004 to 2006, with agriculture being the main contributor at 96 percent. Blue WF, surface and groundwater, was 811 million cubic meters per year, while green WF, soil water, was 957 million cubic meters per year. The blue WF exceeded available blue water resources during 8 months out of the year, indicating that the current WF pattern is unsustainable. To address this issue, the authors suggest optimizing crop planting patterns to reduce overall WF. This article was authored by Zizeng, J. Lu, P. H. Keiman, and others.