Mapping the coal-water nexus in the Yellow River Basin

Abstract

The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is the most important coal-producing area in China. In the context of climate change, the water-intensive coal industry chain is becoming an increasingly serious competitor for the region's scarce water resources. To better understand the coal-water nexus in the YRB, this study established a comprehensive geodatabase of the production facilities of the coal industry chain, including coal mines, coal-fired power plants, and various coal-chemical plants. The total water withdrawal by the coal industry chain was estimated at 2.765 billion m³ in 2018, of which coal-fired power generation accounted for 48%, followed by coal chemical production (28%) and coal mining (24%). Approximately 88% of the water withdrawal comes from catchments in which the withdrawal-to-availability ratio is higher than 0.4, indicating an extremely high or high water stress. The spatial distribution of water withdrawal is highly concentrated in a few areas with rich coal resources and have been developed as coal industry hubs. Water stress exerted by the coal industry is most significant in the eastern part of the ‘Hetao’ area, which covers the intersections of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia.