Under the background of urban water scarcity, water resources need to be calculated systematically. To conduct comprehensive water resources accounting on the premise of reality-approaching simulation, we proposed an urban water resources accounting method based on the perspective of industrial interaction, including core data acquisition, establishment of an accounting framework, calculation of related indicators, and concrete case studies. First, for a city without input–output (IO) tables, we constructed a method to compile noncompetitive IO tables based on city-level multiregional IO (MRIO) tables. Then, taking the compiled MRIO table as core data, an urban water resources accounting framework was established for the three dimensions of the entire city, sectoral level, and intersectoral interactions to calculate indicators and to quantitatively analyze the characteristics of urban water resources consumption. Finally, Dongguan, a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province (China) with developed manufacturing industries but water resource shortages was chosen as a case study. Results showed that the total water supply decreased by 109.96 million m3 during 2012–2017 when the city’s economy was growing steadily. The direct water consumption associated with telecommunications, computers, and other electronic equipment was largest among the various sectors analyzed. However, the direct water consumption coefficient of agriculture was the largest among the various sectors. More importantly, during 2012–2017, virtual water flowed from agriculture to food processing, and from electricity, gas, and water production and supply to manufacturing and services, which is beneficial for urban water saving. Ultimately, the various sectors were classified according to economic correlation coefficients and water consumption, and appropriate directions of development for healthy economic growth and effective utilization of water resources were proposed
