Abstract
The South-to-North Water Diversion (SNWD) Project has entered the operational stage. The infrastructure decreases water shortages and promotes economic growth for North China, whereas the environmental effects have yet to be fully examined. In this paper, an analysis of the interaction between water quantity and water quality is conducted using the system dynamics method. In a specific province covering areas that provide and receive water, simulation results for economic and environmental indicators at different levels of transferred water and pollution rates are obtained. Certain conclusions can be drawn from the findings. First, the SNWD Project can provide a sufficient quantity of water for economic growth in receiving regions. Second, an efficient quantity of transferred water exists, which demonstrates the growth limitation for both agriculture and the groundwater funnel. Third, upgrades in water quality can mutually reinforce the quantity effect and greatly promote economic growth. An environmental limitation exists for all economic activities. Therefore, water quantity and water quality are equally crucial in the SNWD Project to provide an opportunity for sustainable development.
Highlights
The South-to-North Water Diversion (SNWD) Project, or the South-to-NorthWater Transfer Project, is an infrastructure project designed to divert water from flood-prone southern rivers to China’s water-poor northern region [1]
Approximately 253 billion Yuan (Chinese currency, 1 Yuan = 0.16 U.S dollar) has been invested in its construction [3], from a cost-benefit point of view, the SNWD Project is a feasible choice for North China and the rest of the country [4,5]
As explained in the previous section, we chose five different levels of transferred water amounts to simulate the effects of quantity on economics and the environment
Summary
Water Transfer Project, is an infrastructure project designed to divert water from flood-prone southern rivers to China’s water-poor northern region [1]. According to the project plan, the annual volume of diverted water is 44.8 billion cubic meters. The size is close to the total water volume of China’s. Approximately 253 billion Yuan (Chinese currency, 1 Yuan = 0.16 U.S dollar) has been invested in its construction [3], from a cost-benefit point of view, the SNWD Project is a feasible choice for North China and the rest of the country [4,5]. To other mega-projects in China and worldwide [7,8], controversies surrounding the SNWD Project have continuously been debated by numerous stakeholders and researchers [9,10,11]
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