In order to facilitate the rational utilization of water resources, safeguard the water ecological environment, and drive the sustainable development of the economy and society, this paper selects samples from A-share listed companies in China’s high water-consuming industry located in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2011 to 2022 and develops a double-difference model to empirically assess the effect of the pilot construction policy on the new quality productive forces of high water-consuming enterprises. The findings indicate that constructing a water ecological civilization city can enhance the new quality productive forces of high water-consuming enterprises, with green technology innovation as a crucial factor influencing this productivity improvement. The heterogeneity analysis indicates that the impact of the pilot construction of a water ecological civilization city on the new quality productive forces of highwater-consuming enterprises is more significant in the central and western regions, low economic development areas, and state-owned enterprises.