<p>This study introduces a roadmap for developing social indices of water resource sustainability, focusing on water scarcity perception and connectedness to nature, and examines their influence on farmers’ water consumption tendencies. Using a mixed-methods design, we identified 41 indicators of water scarcity perception and 10 indicators of connectedness to nature. Exploratory factor analysis grouped these into three dimensions of water scarcity perception— perceiving driving factors of water shortage (PDFWS), perceiving consequences of water shortage (PCWS), and knowledge of strategies for adaptation to water shortage (KSDWS)—and three dimensions of connectedness to nature—cognitive, emotional, and behavioral. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that PDFWS (Beta = 0.45; Sig = 0.001; T = 4.90), PCWS (Beta = 0.13; Sig = 0.008; T = 2.75), KSDWS (Beta = 0.21; Sig = 0.001; T = 3.28), cognitive connectedness (Beta = 0.16; Sig = 0.005; T = 2.83), affective connectedness (Beta = 0.26; Sig = 0.003; T = 2.95), and behavioral connectedness (Beta = 0.26; Sig = 0.001; T = 4.05) had significant positive effects on farmers’ sustainable water consumption tendencies. Among them, PDFWS exerted the strongest influence, indicating that farmers more aware of the d driving factors of water shortage were most inclined toward sustainable practices. These results highlight the novelty of developing validated social indices for understanding farmers’ sustainability orientations and demonstrate their practical role in shaping pro-environmental behavior. The findings provide evidence-based guidance for policymakers and practitioners to design targeted communication and training strategies that strengthen water conservation behavior in agricultural communities. Additionally, the study offers theoretical insights into the psychological and social drivers of water conservation and informs policy development for sustainable agricultural water management.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>