Regional difference assessment of the South-to-North Water Diversion project on improving intensive utilization efficiency of water resources in the water-receiving areas.

Abstract

Improving the intensive utilization efficiency of water resources is essential to promote the sustainable utilization and management of water resources in water shortage areas, such as the water-receiving areas of water transfer project. Since the middle line project of South-to-North Diversion (SNWD) officially put into operation in 2014, the status of water resource supply and management in the water-receiving areas in China has changed. This study aimed to analyze the impact of the middle line project of SNWD on the intensive utilization efficiency of water resources, combined with the analysis results in the effects of the middle line project of SNWD under a variety of heterogeneous factors, so as to provide a policy reference for the utilization and management of water resources in water-receiving areas. Specifically, the BCC model based on the input perspective was adopted to calculate the water resource intensive utilization efficiency in 17 cities of Henan Province in China from 2011 to 2020. On this basis, the regional differences in the effects of the middle line project of SNWD on the water resource intensive utilization efficiency were analyzed through the difference-in-differences (DID) method. The results indicated that (1) during the study period, the average value of water resource intensive utilization efficiency in water-receiving areas was higher than that in non-water-receiving areas in Henan province, and the development trends of them showed "U"-shaped characteristics. (2) The middle line project of SNWD significantly has promoted the water resource intensive utilization efficiency in the water-receiving areas in Henan Province. (3) The heterogeneous differences of economic development, opening-up level, government influence, water resource endowment, and water resource policies would lead to regional differences in the effect of the middle line project of SNWD. Therefore, the government should adopt differentiated policies to improve the intensive utilization efficiency of water resources in accordance with the development conditions of the water-receiving areas.