This study examines the connections between urbanization, industrial structure, and water pollutant emissions in China using a panel kink regression model. The study finds that urbanization generally contributes to increased water pollutant emissions in China, except within a specific range of urbanization levels. The industrial structure also positively affects water pollutant emissions when industrial activity represents a certain proportion of GDP. Notably, the study does not find evidence of an inverted U-shaped or N-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) for water pollutants in China. However, it identifies an inverted N-shaped relationship between industrial structure and water pollutant emissions. This pattern reflects distinct phases of China’s economic development: an initial phase with primary industry dominance and minimal emissions, a second phase with increased emissions from secondary industries, particularly heavy industries, and a third phase with a shift towards tertiary industries, which reduces water pollutant emissions.