Industrial Water Use Efficiency Research Articles

The Impact of Rapid Urbanization on the Efficiency of Industrial Green Water Use in Urban Agglomerations around Poyang Lake

The construction of urban agglomerations around Poyang Lake is an important starting point of the strategy for the improvement of central China, but the spatial agglomeration of industry and population brings great pressure to the ecological environment. It is of great practical value to explore the impact of rapid urbanization on the water use efficiency of important ecological functional areas. Considering the undesired output of industrial production, this paper adopts the SE-SBM model to measure industrial green water use efficiency, comprehensively considers different aspects of urbanization of the urban agglomeration around Poyang Lake, empirically tests its inhibiting or boosting effect on industrial green water use and explores its spatial spillover effect with the help of a spatial metrology model. The results show that (1) the industrial green water use efficiency of urban agglomerations shows an overall upward trend, and the efficiency value of central cities is significantly higher than that of non-central cities and continues to show a state of diffusion; (2) social urbanization, environmental urbanization, and balanced urbanization can significantly improve industrial green water use efficiency, while industrial urbanization or industrialization inhibits the improvement in water use efficiency; (3) considering the spatial spillover factor, there are significant positive local effects between population urbanization and balanced urbanization, and significant positive spatial spillover effects between industrial urbanization and environmental urbanization; (4) the original model can pass the significance test by replacing the output-oriented water use efficiency with the input-oriented or non-oriented water use efficiency; the study area is extended to Jiangxi Province, and the impact of urbanization on industrial water use efficiency is basically consistent. We should adhere to the new type of urbanization that improves well-being and is friendly to the environment, rationally plan the industrial spatial pattern of urban agglomerations, adhere to the ecological and environmental threshold on undertaking industrial transfer, and promote the flow and sharing of green production factors.

A bootstrapping dynamic two-stage SBM model: An application to assess industrial water use and health risk systems

Despite the great number of applications of bootstrapping data envelopment analysis (DEA) with a one-stage structure, there are limited attempts for approximating the distribution of the DEA estimator considering the two-stage structure across multiple periods. This research develops the dynamic two-stage non-radial DEA model based on smoothed bootstrap and subsampling bootstrap. Then, we run the proposed models on assessing the efficiency of China's industrial water use and health risk (IWUHR) systems and compare them with the bootstrapping results on standard radial network DEA. The results are as follows. (1) The proposed non-radial DEA model based on smoothed bootstrap can adjust original over-estimated and under-estimated values. (2) China's IWUHR system has good performance, and its HR stage performs better than the IWU stage for 30 provinces from 2011 to 2019. The poor performance of the IWU stage in Jiangxi and Gansu needs to be noticed. The provincial differences of the detailed bias-corrected efficiencies expand in the later period. (3) The rankings of IWU efficiency in the three regions are in agreement with that of HR efficiency: eastern, western, and central regions in this order. Particular attention should be paid to the downward trend of the bias-corrected IWUHR efficiency in the central region.

Spatial-temporal evolution of water resources utilization efficiency in Jiangsu Province

Abstract Improving water resource utilization efficiency is essential in alleviating the crisis of water resource shortage and promoting the sustainable development of the social economy. Based on the data envelopment analysis (DEA) and Malmquist index, the agricultural, industrial, and domestic water resource utilization efficiency of Jiangsu Province from 2011 to 2020 are evaluated, respectively. The results show that the DEA efficiency of agriculture and industrial water use is greater than that of domestic while the improvement of agricultural and domestic water efficiency is larger than that of industrial. Temporally, the water use efficiency was on an increasing trend from 2011 to 2020, and technological progress is the main factor in improving the water resource utilization efficiency. Spatially, the water use efficiency of southern cities in Jiangsu Province is higher than that of northern and central cities, but the difference between cities is gradually narrowing. To improve the efficiency of water resource efficiency, the government should formulate water resource management policies according to local conditions.

Water Security in South Asian Cities: A Review of Challenges and Opportunities

Achieving water security in South Asian cities will require a realistic and holistic understanding of the challenges that are growing in extent and severity. These challenges include the rapid rise in urban household water demand due to both overall population growth and increasing urbanization rate. Additionally, surface water supply in closed river basins is fully utilized, and there is little opportunity in these regions to increase the extraction of surface water to meet rising demands. Furthermore, groundwater extraction in most regions exceeds natural recharge rates, leading to rapidly falling annual water tables and seasonal depletion in hard rock regions and to gradually declining water tables requiring deeper wells and increased pumping effort in alluvial regions. Additionally, even in cities with abundant water resources, poorer segments of the population often face economic water scarcity and lack the means to access it. Nevertheless, there are important potential engineering opportunities for achieving water security in South Asian cities. Much withdrawn water is lost due to urban water distribution inefficiency, and a range of proven techniques exist to improve distribution. Metering of urban water can lead to structural improvements of management and billing, though the water needs of the poorest city residents must be ensured. Industrial water-use efficiency can be significantly improved in manufacturing and electricity generation. The quantities of wastewater generated in South Asia are large, thus treating and reusing this water for other purposes is a strong lever in enhancing local water security. There is limited potential for rooftop rainwater harvesting and storage, though capture-enhanced groundwater recharge can be important in some areas. Some individual inter-basin transfer projects may prove worthwhile, but very-large-scale projects are unlikely to contribute practically to urban water security. Overall, the water challenges facing South Asian cities are complex, and although no single intervention can definitively solve growing problems, numerous actions can be taken on many fronts to improve water security.

Drought Risk Assessment of Sugarcane-Based Electricity Generation in the Rio dos Patos Basin, Brazil

Brazil has a large share of hydropower in its electricity matrix. Since hydropower depends on water availability, it is particularly vulnerable to drought events, making the Brazilian electricity matrix vulnerable to climate change. Starting in 2005, Brazil opened the matrix to new renewable sources, including sugarcane-based electricity. Sugarcane is known for its resilience to short dry spells. Over the last decades, its production area moved from the coastal plains of the Atlantic Forest biome to the savannahs of the Cerrado biome, which is characterised by a five- to six month-long dry season. The sugarcane-based electricity system is highly dynamic and complex due to the interlinkages, dependencies, and cascading impacts between its agricultural and industrial subsystems. This paper applies the risk framework proposed by the IPCC to assess climate-change-driven drought risks to sugarcane electricity generation systems to identify their strengths and weaknesses, considering the system dynamics and linkages. Our methodology aims to understand and characterize drought in the agriculture as well as industrial subsystems and offers a specific understanding of the system by using indicators tailored to sugarcane-based electricity generation. Our results underline the relevance of actions at different levels of management. Initiatives, such as regional weather forecasts specifically for agriculture, and measures to increase industrial water-use efficiency were identified to be essential to reduce the drought risk. Actions from farmers and mill owners, supported and guided by the government at different levels, have the potential to increase the resilience of the system. For example, the implementation of small dams was identified by local actors as a promising intervention to adapt to the long dry seasons; however, they need to be implemented based on a proper technical assessment in order to locate these dams in suitable places. Moreover, the results show that creating and maintaining small water reservoirs to enable the adoption of deficit-controlled irrigation technology contribute to reducing the overall drought risk of the sugarcane-based electricity generation system.

Retraction Note to: Groundwater level change based on edge computing and translation accuracy of urban English

For China, water resources are very scarce, mainly because of the rapid economic development. Especially in the north of China, in order to meet the needs of local social development, groundwater in North China has been overfished for many years, resulting in serious environmental problems. The plain area of S city is a typical groundwater overfishing area in North China Plain. Long-term overexploitation of groundwater disturbs the balance between recharge and drainage. The groundwater level in the plain of S city decreased rapidly, forming a large number of groundwater depression funnels in this area. In the past few decades, the scale of groundwater drawdown funnel has been expanding, causing geological and ecological problems such as cracks and collapses. In view of the fact that the groundwater level in S city has been declining and the scope of groundwater depression funnel has been continuously extended, comprehensive management has been implemented. Two governance methods can be used through edge computing. First, we should speed up the construction of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project and use the river water allocated by the South-to-North Water Diversion Project to replace the groundwater extracted from the receiving area. The second is underground water pressure mining. Control the intensity of water extraction, improve the efficiency of industrial and agricultural water use, and reduce the use of groundwater. On the basis of the analysis of language and usage standards, combined with examples, we can take the city English of Los Angeles as a reference, expand the analysis of language use and social pragmatics, and check the mistranslation of Chinese city English, so as to improve the accuracy of translation. Based on the study of groundwater level change and the accuracy of urban English translation, this paper applies it to edge computing, which promotes the development of groundwater treatment and urban English translation.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Groundwater level change based on edge computing and translation accuracy of urban English

For China, water resources are very scarce, mainly because of the rapid economic development. Especially in the north of China, in order to meet the needs of local social development, groundwater in North China has been overfished for many years, resulting in serious environmental problems. The plain area of S city is a typical groundwater overfishing area in North China Plain. Long-term overexploitation of groundwater disturbs the balance between recharge and drainage. The groundwater level in the plain of S city decreased rapidly, forming a large number of groundwater depression funnels in this area. In the past few decades, the scale of groundwater drawdown funnel has been expanding, causing geological and ecological problems such as cracks and collapses. In view of the fact that the groundwater level in S city has been declining and the scope of groundwater depression funnel has been continuously extended, comprehensive management has been implemented. Two governance methods can be used through edge computing. First, we should speed up the construction of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project and use the river water allocated by the South-to-North Water Diversion Project to replace the groundwater extracted from the receiving area. The second is underground water pressure mining. Control the intensity of water extraction, improve the efficiency of industrial and agricultural water use, and reduce the use of groundwater. On the basis of the analysis of language and usage standards, combined with examples, we can take the city English of Los Angeles as a reference, expand the analysis of language use and social pragmatics, and check the mistranslation of Chinese city English, so as to improve the accuracy of translation. Based on the study of groundwater level change and the accuracy of urban English translation, this paper applies it to edge computing, which promotes the development of groundwater treatment and urban English translation.

Evaluation of urban water ecological civilization: A case study of three urban agglomerations in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

Urbanization and economic development pose a challenge to the water ecological environment of cities. “Ecological Civilization” is a term that demonstrates the strategy to achieve the win-win goal of economic development and eco-environment protection. “Water Ecological Civilization” is a vital part of “Ecological Civilization”. This paper introduced a composite index to characterize the Urban Water Ecological Civilization (UWEC) and established an evaluation index system for UWEC based on a multicriteria analytical framework. The evaluation system contains 20 indicators selected from six criterion layers: water resources utilization (A, evaluating the efficiency of industrial, agricultural, domestic and public water use), water security assurance (B, evaluating the flood control, drainage and drinking water safety), water environmental protection (C, evaluating the water environment quality and water pollution prevention), water ecological restoration (D, evaluating the health of regional water ecosystem), water culture system (E, evaluating the inheritance of water culture and the popularization of UWEC awareness) and water management institution (F, evaluating the implementation of management systems). In our research, three major urban agglomerations (UAs) in Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) were chosen to be the study area. The results presented that the UWEC level of UAs gradually increased along the Yangtze River from west to east, showing obvious spatial differences. The main criteria restricting the UWEC level of UAs in the Yangtze River Delta were D and E, while E and F were the main restricting criteria for the UWEC level of UAs in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River and Cheng-Yu District. The indicator of “drainage compliance rate” got the lowest score among all indicators for three UAs. In addition, targeted measures for improving the UWEC level of UAs in YREB were proposed. Our study is supposed to provide a scientific reference to the improvement of UWEC level for UAs in YREB and trigger further research in the field of water ecological civilization.

Assessment on water resources carrying capacity in karst areas by using an innovative DPESBRM concept model and cloud model

The shortage of water resources in karst areas is mainly caused by the development of karst landforms, poor availability of water resources and the difficulty of utilization. To reasonably evaluate water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) of karst areas, based on characteristics of urban water resources utilization in karst areas, this study put forward DPESBRM (Driver-Pressure-Engineering water shortage-State-Ecological basis-Response-Management) concept model the first time to build an urban evaluation index system of WRCC in karst areas. Based on this index system and in allusion to uncertainties that exist during the evaluation process, a cloud model is used to represent index weights and perform comprehensive evaluation calculations, which fully considers the randomness and ambiguity of evaluation objects. WRCC from 2009 to 2018 were evaluated and were classified as five grades (Serious overload – Overload – Critical – Weak carrying capacity – Strong carrying capacity). Results proved that WRCC had improved year after year, gradually changing from a serious overload state in 2009 to a strong carrying capacity state in 2018. 2009 and 2016 were classified as I grade (serious overload). 2010 and 2011 were classified as II grade (overload). 2012, 2013 and 2015 were classified as IV grade (weak bearing capacity). 2014, 2017 and 2018 were classified as V grade (strong bearing capacity). Cloud model assessment results are compared with that of TOPSIS method, and assessment results are basically unanimous. It shows that the established WRCC evaluation method based on cloud model in this study is reasonable and feasible. Population density, urbanization rate and per capital water consumption are important driving factors affecting WRCC. Hence, strengthening the construction of water conservancy facilities, optimizing the water consumption structure, improving the efficiency of industrial water use, reducing per capital water consumption, and narrowing urban water supply and demand gap are important measures to ensure WRCC.

Assessing integrated industrial water use and healthcare systems: efficiencies and its dynamic evolution.

Water pollution caused by heavy metal leaves human beings exposed to various health risks. Although many studies have focused on the efficiency of industrial water use (IWU) systems, few studies further address analysis for the harmful effect of heavy metal polluted water on human health. This paper first considers both IWU and healthcare (HC) systems as an integrated two-stage IWUHC system. Detailed efficiencies and its dynamic evolution are further revealed by integrating a dynamic two-stage DEA model within a slacks-based measure and Kernel density estimation. Results are as follows: (1) During 2011-2017, the IWUHC systems for 30 provinces in China have low efficiencies, which may have been caused by the bad performance of HC sub-system. The rankings of the average IWU efficiencies in four regions are in agreement with that of HC sub-system: northeastern, eastern, western, and central regions. (2) Provincial differences of IWU efficiencies are more significant than that of HC sub-system. The two-level distribution of IWUHC efficiencies is not helpful for improving IWUHC efficiencies in the eastern and western regions. (3) Understanding the dynamic evolution of the detailed efficiencies and the key indicator efficiencies provide governments with differentiated and forward-looking suggestions toward promoting IWUHC efficiencies.

Industrial water-use efficiency in China: Regional heterogeneity and incentives identification

Progress has been made in improving water-use efficiency (WUE) in China, whereas problems such as unbalanced regional and industrial WUE development still exist. In this study, the WUE of 30 provinces in mainland China at the overall level as well as three industrial (i.e., primary, secondary, and tertiary industrial) levels are investigated. The study covers the time period 2005 to 2015 and is based on the Slacks-based measure approach combined with the Super-efficiency model dealing with undesirable outputs; in addition, a multidimensional analytical framework was developed in this study. Afterwards, the geographical detector model is applied to identify the driving forces of WUE, serving as a reference for policies and strategies needed to improve WUE. Results indicate that China’s overall WUE has been improving since 2005, though further progress is necessary. At the regional level, five regions (i.e., water abundance, vulnerability, stress, scarcity, and absolute scarcity) grouped by the availability of water resources per capita are all the most efficient in terms of water use in the primary industry. The absolute scarcity region performs best in all four dimensions despite the scarcity of water resources per capita, yet the water stress region has the lowest WUE. At the provincial level, provinces in the eastern coastal region, especially the south-eastern coastal region, have the highest WUE, whereas those in the interior south-eastern and south-western region have the lowest. Industrial structure, research and development intensity, and higher education are the main driving forces of WUE. Their mutual interactions and their interactions with other indicators are highly influential.

Industrial water-use technical efficiency and potential reduction of CO2 emissions: evidence from industry-level data

This article analyzes the relationship between industrial water-use efficiency and carbon dioxide for 14 industries from 1998 to 2015 using a true fixed-effects stochastic frontier model. The highest water-use efficiency is that of the rubber products manufacturing industry, approaching 0.62. The average water-use efficiency score across industries is 0.30 for the period. The potential water conservation for the various industries ranges from 4.07 to 212.67 million cubic meters. Further examination of potential reduction for CO2 emissions shows that it ranges from 0.63 to 32.33 million kilograms. The reduction of CO2 emissions for the various industries on average is 12.19 million kilograms. These results exhibit great room for improvement in water-use efficiency; making these improvements will eventually improve CO2 emissions. Water conservation can be viewed as a part of policy to reduce CO2 emissions. The results obtained from this study can help in formulating appropriate policies to face both water supply crises and climate change.

Challenges for Sustainable Water Use in the Urban Industry of Korea Based on the Global Non-Radial Directional Distance Function Model

Since water stress and industrial water pollution pose a huge threat to South Korea’s sustainable water use, it is an urgent task to assess industrial water green use efficiency (GUEIW). Based on the global non-radial directional distance function (GNDDF) model, this paper calculated GUEIW in 16 Korean local governments from 2006 to 2015 using two decomposition indicators: Economic efficiency of industrial water use (ECEIW) and environmental efficiency of industrial water use (ENEIW). The growth of GUEIW is mainly driven by ECEIW, and subsequent environmental problems are obstacles to achieving green use of Korean industrial water. The regional heterogeneity of GUEIW is so important that the downstream region outperformed the upstream region in all three indicators. The government’s efforts to ensure water quality inhibits industrial development in upstream areas, where incomes are much lower than in downstream areas, and downstream industrial areas have to pay upstream industrial areas extra for water. However, regarding upstream industrial areas, low prices easily promote water waste. Because of relatively high water use costs, downstream producers are encouraged to save water. To improve the economic efficiency of industrial water use in upstream areas, advanced water technology should be developed or introduced to make full use of water resources in industrial production.

Sustainable water use and water shadow price in China’s urban industry

China is faced with a serious water shortage problem, and industrial sector is a major water consumer. How to improve the efficiency of industrial water use is extremely important for sustainable use of water in China. This paper applies a global non-radial directional distance function (GNDDF) to measure the green use efficiency of industrial water (GUEIW) incorporating undesirable outputs during 2004–2012. We calculate the two components of GUEIW named economic efficiency of industrial water (ECEIW) and economic efficiency of industrial water (ENEIW), and the shadow price of industrial water to explore the bias between the actual prices and the shadow ones. The results show that the GUEIW shows a W type curve over the study period, and its growth is mainly driven by the ECEIW. The regional heterogeneity of the GUEIW is significant. The eastern region of China enjoys the highest GUEIW, while the central region suffers the poorest performance in the GUEIW. The western region has the largest internal gap of the GUEIW. The actual prices of industrial water in all the provinces are much lower than the shadow ones, and appropriate increase in the industrial water price is helpful to raise the GUEIW. Some policy implications are also suggested.

Participatory groundwater management in Jordan: Development and analysis of options

Groundwater over-exploitation has been on the rise in Jordan. Competing demands have grown in the face of perennial water shortages, a situation which has been exacerbated by drought conditions in the past decade. This paper reports findings of a project in which management options to address over-exploitation were developed for one of Jordan’s principal aquifer systems, the Amman-Zarqa Basin. Options for addressing the situation were developed through a participatory approach that involved government officials and various public and private sector interest groups. Particular efforts were made to involve well irrigators, who are likely to be heavily impacted by the changes required to reduce groundwater pumping to a sustainable level. With information obtained from a rapid appraisal survey as well as from interviews with farmers, community groups, government officials, and technical experts, an extensive set of options was identified for evaluation. Based on integrated hydrogeologic, social, and economic analysis, five complementary management options were recommended for implementation. These included the establishment of an Irrigation Advisory Service, buying out farm wells, placing firm limits on well abstraction and irrigated crop areas, exchanging treated wastewater for groundwater, and measures to increase the efficiency of municipal and industrial water use. Various combinations and levels of these options were grouped in scenarios, representing possible implementation strategies. The scenarios were designed to assist decision makers, well owners and other stakeholders in moving gradually towards a sustainable abstraction regime. Social and economic aspects of each option and scenario were analyzed and presented to stakeholders, together with a summary of legal, institutional and environmental ramifications. Combining scientific analysis with a participatory approach in the Amman Zarqa Basin groundwater management was devised as a prototype to be used in the management of other groundwater basins in Jordan. This participatory management approach would also be useful in other parts of the world that are experiencing similar groundwater over-exploitation problems.