Water Resources In China Research Articles

Simulation and Regulation of Sustainable Utilization of Water Resources in China Based on Improved Water Resources Ecological Footprint Model

The original ecological footprint model of water resources was improved here to explore the rational policy of water resources development and utilization. Aiming to address the problems of high complexity, weak applicability, and insufficient systematicness and dynamics of the existing water resources ecological footprint model, the grey water footprint was introduced into the model to quantify the water for decontamination. In the calculation of the water resources ecological footprint index, the rainwater collection project, seawater desalination, and water resources regeneration, unconventional water sources were considered, and when combined with the system dynamics simulation technology, the SD model of water resources sustainable utilization in China was established. We carried out research on the regulation and control of sustainable utilization of water resources in China. The results showed that the development and utilization of water resources in China remained within the ecological carrying capacity as a whole from 2000 to 2017, and the development of water resources still had potential, but the supply and demand of water resources were unbalanced. Given this, from the perspective of throttling, open-source, and pollution control, six control schemes for sustainable utilization of water resources in China were set up, including the continuation of the current situation, green throttling, pollution control, strict planning for water source development, and comprehensive treatment. Among them, the comprehensive coordination plan for 2018-2050 could properly solve the problem of water resources supply and demand under the conditions of meeting the ecological sustainability of water resources and reasonable water resources load and was the best regulation plan to realize the sustainable utilization of water resources in China. At present, the development of water resources in China lags, which does not match the growth rate of social and economic development on water resources consumption. It is necessary to further strengthen the efforts of open-source, water-saving, and pollution control based on the original policies, so as to alleviate the ecological stress of water resources.

Analysis of changing trend of water resources and water environment quality in china from 2009 to 2019

Based on the statistical analysis of China Water Resources Bulletin, China environmental situation Bulletin and national environmental statistics yearbook during 2008-2019, we summarized the water resources and water environment quality of seven major basins, and the proportion, main pollutants and change trend of various types of water quality are discussed. Meanwhile, wastewater discharge and pollution discharge are also analyzed. The results show that in the recent years, the overall water environment quality in China is improving, but the overall water environment quality is still not optimistic. Water resources are not only the basis for human survival and development, but also a strategic resource for the development of the national economy. According to the <<World Water Development Report 2018>> issued by the United Nations, the current global water demand is increasing at a rate of 1% per year. This demand will continue to increase, and my country's water resources are even scarcer, and the per capita consumption is only 1/4 of the global average. In the face of this situation, understanding the state and changing trends of my country's water resources and water environment, and putting forward targeted resource conservation and pollution control measures are of great significance to alleviating the problem of my country's water shortage.

Education level of farmers, market-oriented reforms, and the utilization efficiency of agricultural water resources in China

Education level of farmers, market-oriented reforms, and the utilization efficiency of agricultural water resources in China

Study on the Photodegradation of Dissolved Organic Matter in Urban Water Bodies in Nanjing

This paper reviews the DOM pollution of water resources in China, and complements the organic matter degradation characteristics of urban water bodies in Nanjing. In this study, the photodegradation experiment and UV-visible spectroscopy measurement of three types of water are conducted, analyzed and discussed around the degradation of DOC and aromatic substances, and the DOM degradation characteristics of different cities are studied. It can be identified in this study that urban water bodies near human living areas and non-circulation have higher DOM content and are less susceptible to decomposition, which is related to human needs and transformation of the environment and human daily activities.

Spatial-temporal occurrence and sources of organochlorine pesticides in the sediments of the largest deep lake (Lake Fuxian) in China.

Compared with shallow lakes, less attention has been paid on pollutions in deep lakes. Lake Fuxian is the largest deep lake and an important water resource in China. The knowledge on organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in sediments of Lake Fuxian was rare. Fifteen surface sediments and one sediment core were collected from Lake Fuxian. Sediment chronology was dated with the activities of 137Cs and 210Pb. Twenty-one OCPs in the surface sediments and sediment core were analyzed by a GC-MS. Spatial and temporal occurrences of OCPs in the sediments of this lake were studied. Correlations, isomer ratios, and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to apportion the sources of OCPs in the sediments of this lake. The OCPs in the sediments of Lake Fuxian were dominated by p,p'-DDT (4,4'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and HCHs (hexachlorocyclohexane). The concentration of ΣOCPs in the surface sediments ranged from 0.42 to 67.5ngg-1, with an average of 42.3 ± 23.5ngg-1 (mean ± SD, n = 15). The concentration of ΣOCPs in the sediment core varied from 3.5 to 707.9ngg-1 in the period from 1950 to 2010, with an average of 167.7 ± 203.7ngg-1 (n = 24). The highest concentrations and fluxes of α-HCH, γ-HCH, and p,p'-DDT were found in the years of 1964 and 1967, respectively. The fluxes of HCH isomers in the sediment core decreased in the orders as γ-HCH > β-HCH > α-HCH in the period from 1950 to 2010. The concentrations of HCHs and p,p'-DDT in the sediments of Lake Fuxian were higher than those of most shallow and deep lakes in the world. HCHs and p,p'-DDT were derived from both the technical HCH and DDT and the usage of lindane and dicofol. Technical DDT and technical HCH may be used simultaneously, but technical DDT and lindane were not applied simultaneously in the catchment. Lindane was used not only in the period from 2002 to 2010 but also in the period from 1950 to 1964 in the catchment.

Attribution and Sensitivity Analysis of Runoff Variation in the Yellow River Basin under Climate Change

The Yellow River Basin is a typical arid and semi-arid area, which is very sensitive to climate change. In recent years, it has become the area with the greatest shortage of water resources in China. In this study, a new two-way coupling model of land surface and hydrology has been explored to analyze the impacts of climate change and human activities on the runoff. It is of great theoretical and practical significance for making better management countermeasures and strategies to cope with climate change in the Yellow River Basin. The results showed that: (1) the annual average precipitation in the basin was 470.1 mm, which was higher in the lower reaches than in the middle and upper reaches. The annual average temperature is 5.8 °C. The entire basin showed a remarkable warming speed. The annual average pan evaporation is 1067.3 mm showing a downward trend throughout the basin; (2) from 1987 to 2009, the contribution rate of climate change to runoff change has not fluctuated by more than 5%. Since 2010, the precipitation caused by climate factors has increased runoff by 12~15%. The impact of land use change on runoff has been increasing annually. The influence of projects on runoff change was the leading factor of runoff reduction in the Yellow River Basin, with the contribution rate around 50%; and (3) for every 10% decrease in precipitation, the runoff decreases by 13~15.7%. When the temperature rises by 1.0 °C, the runoff decreases by 2.1~4.2%. The runoff in the upper reaches of the Yellow River was most sensitive to precipitation and temperature changes. This showed that the runoff in the plateau and mountainous areas were highly sensitive to climate change.

Does the water resource ‘fee to tax’ policy alleviate water poverty? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment

Abstract Levying a water resources tax policy which is called ‘fee to tax’ is a regulation formulated by China to restrain and alleviate water poverty. To test the effect of the water resources ‘fee to tax’, this research employs a multistage dynamic difference-in-differences (DID) model to explore whether the implementation of the policy can help alleviate water poverty based on panel data from 2009 to 2019. The results indicate the water poverty in western China is significantly more serious than in other regions and the implementation of the water resources tax policy significantly alleviates water poverty (the sign of the policy is positive and significant at the 1% level) in China. Additionally, the mechanism effects suggest that the policy can effectively restrain water poverty by reducing groundwater exploitation and optimizing the water utilization structure. In terms of spatial heterogeneity, the effect of the water resources tax policy on alleviating water poverty is stronger in central and eastern regions than in western regions. The conclusions of this study may, to some degree, serve as a basis to scientifically guide the implementation of China's water resources ‘fee to tax’ policy and, thus, effectively improve the level of water resources management.

Impact of urban and rural food consumption on water demand in China—From the perspective of water footprint

With the rapid development of society and economy, changes happened dramatically in the food consumption and structure among Chinese residents. This paper analyzes the impact of residents' food consumption on water resources in China from the perspective of water footprint (WF), which is important to promote water conservation from the consumption side. After calculating the WFs of urban and rural residents' food consumption, the paper explored the drivers of WFs through the extended Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model, and then scenario analysis was applied to investigate how to reduce water depletion of food consumption in China. The results showed that (1) There were increasing trends in the per capita WFs of urban and rural residents' food consumption from 2000 to 2020, and the per capita WFs in urban were higher than that of rural. (2) Between 2000 and 2020, the total WFs of urban residents' food consumption had risen by 370.20 billion m 3 , while the total WFs had decreased from 407.20 billion m 3 to 310.64 billion m 3 in rural as urbanization increased. (3) Consumption quantity and population size were the main factors driving the changes in WFs of food consumption between urban and rural residents. (4) Under the scenarios of baseline, consumption upgrading, and saving food, an upward tendency could be observed in the WFs of rural residents' food consumption, while the WFs were expected to peak around 2030 in urban. This paper argued that it was possible to achieve the goal of reducing water depletion by controlling the food consumption of urban and rural residents. Under these conditions, this paper proposes to develop a water-saving consumption pattern in terms of optimizing the dietary structure and advocating food conservation between urban and rural residents.

The influence of climate change on the allocation efficiency of new and tradition energy.

The purpose of this paper is to strengthen research concerning the impact of climate change on China's water resources, in order to avoid extreme weather events such as regional rainstorms and floods affecting the stable supply of energy and electricity. The goal is to reorganize energy industry allocation to make China's energy the most efficient, which would thus help achieve sustainable development goals. The biggest contribution and of this paper is not only to enlarge the scale and take into account the sustainable aspects, but also to consider climate change factors that have been ignored in the past as exogenous variables. For the first time, we take stock of the optimal allocation of new and tradition energy sources and carbon dioxide. This study uses the Dynamic ZSG-DDF model with exogenous variables and undesirable outputs to find a way to redistribute carbon dioxide, new energy, and tradition energy from different provinces on the premise of maximizing efficiency, thus achieving the goal of reducing carbon and saving the earth. The research results show that the energy efficiency of tradition energy is higher than that of new energy in various provinces. At the same time, the China government must comprehensively review the quota targets of new energy, tradition energy, and carbon dioxide (CO2) in each province as quickly as possible. Currently, the quotas of various provinces are seriously misplaced, and 26 provinces in total have great room for improvement.

Sustainability Assessment of Water Resources Use in 31 Provinces in China: A Combination Method of Entropy Weight and Cloud Model.

As a fundamental and strategic resource, water is a crucial controlling element of ecosystem and natural environment and it plays an irreplaceable role in maintaining and promoting the sustainable development of the economy and society. To achieve the sustainable development of society, the economy and ecology, it is necessary to assess and improve the sustainability of water resources use. Based on the Human–Resource–Nature approach, this paper constructed an indicator system for the sustainability assessment of water resources use (ISSAWRU) in China from three perspectives: water resources condition, socio-economy and ecological environment. A five-level hierarchy of assessment indicators was established. Based on the entropy weight method and the cloud model which took both fuzziness and randomness into account, this paper established an entropy-cloud-based assessment model for the sustainability assessment of water resources use in 31 provinces in China in 2019. The assessment results were compared with results obtained by the TOPSIS method to test their reliability. Finally, a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the sustainability of water resources use in China was conducted. According to the results, water resources per capita had a weighting of 0.306 and the greatest impact on the sustainable use of water resources. In addition, water structure, agricultural water use efficiency, forest coverage, and so on, had a significant impact on the sustainable use of water resources in China. The overall level of sustainability of water resources use in 31 provinces in China was not high—42% of the regions have unsustainable water resources use and there was a clear spatial distribution trend. The sustainability level of water resources use was higher in the southeast and economically developed regions. Therefore, each region should develop measures to guarantee water security based on the local conditions. This research helps policy makers to figure out the contributing factors associated with sustainability of water resources use and to set relevant rules and regulations to promote the use of water resources in a sustainable way.

Coupling coordination analysis of China's water resources utilization efficiency and economic development level

One of China's key initiatives has always been to coordinate the development of water resources and the economy. This research taking specific data as an example, and develop an evaluation index system of coupling coordination degree (CCD) for evaluating China's water resources utilization efficiency (WUE) and economic development level (EDL). To estimate the weight of each index of WUE and EDL, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and entropy weight method (EWM) have been employed. Furthermore, the coupling coordination index of 31 provinces and cities in China was calculated using the coupling model, and the coupling coordination relationship between WUE and EDL in China's 31 provinces was empirically explored under the current development trend. Finally, the spatial global autocorrelation and local autocorrelation of the CCD are analyzed, and the dynamic evolution process of the coupled coordinated development of water resources and economy in 31 provinces in China from 1987 to 2017 is also summarized. The study put up a plausible theoretical framework and empirical support in order to accomplish the sustainable development of WUE and EDL. The findings show that; from 1987 to 2017, the comprehensive development capacity of the two systems of WUE and EDL in China's 31 provinces have continuously improved, and the coordination between the two systems of mutual adaptation and common development has gradually increased, however, the level of CCD has not significantly leapfrogged. The CCD of the four regions shows that eastern region is better than western region, and central region is better than northeast region. As a result, China, as a developing country, continue to face significant challenges in terms of sustainable development of WUE and EDL. In order to improve the WUE and their alignment with economic development, the government should begin by raising water-saving awareness, improving the wastewater recycling and reuse, optimizing the industrial structure, and strengthening agricultural water-saving efforts; while pursuing economic development, ensure the safety and health of the aquatic environment.

Dissolution of harmful trace elements from coal and the environmental risk to mine water utilization.

Under the pressure of water shortages, coal mine water has been allocated as a national water resource in China. However, the existence of harmful trace elements (HTEs) in coal mine water causes environmental risks and health concerns over its reuse. Through a lixiviation experiment, the dominant factors affecting the dissolution of HTEs in coal were simulated and analyzed, and the environmental risks of HTEs in coal mine water in China were evaluated for the first time. The average dissolved content levels of HTEs from coal were Mn > Cu > Zn > Ni > Ba > Cr > Co > V > Mo > Se > U > Pb > Cd, and the average maximum dissolution rates were Ni > Co > Mo > Zn > Cu > Cd > Mn > Se > Ba > Cr > U > Pb > V. Oxidation-reduction potential (Eh) and pH are the dominant factors controlling HTE dissolution. Higher oxygen exposure levels induce Eh and pH development, resulting in more HTE dissolution. This study constructed the dissolution potential index (FC) of HTEs from coal. Based on the results of the FC model, the areas with the highest migration potential and environmental risk of HTEs from coal seams to mine water are located in southern China, especially in the southwest, followed by areas of eastern Inner Mongolia and Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces. The corresponding risks in other regions are relatively low; thus, mine water utilization remains an effective option. This study provides an effective reference for the analysis of HTE enrichment in coal mine water and an evaluation of its safe utilization.

Household behavioral intention, environmental habit and attitude related to efficient water management: an empirical analysis on pro-environmental behavior among urban residents

Abstract The management of water utilities in urban contexts, which are particularly prone to water shortages and where future water security is of the utmost importance, has become a challenging task for the majority of municipal and regional planners. The present study attempts to evaluate how environmental knowledge and values influence possible pro-environmental behavior with respect to household water consumption behavior, attitudes, and habits among 500 (n = 313) urban dwellers in an urban setting in Jiangsu Province, China. We adapted the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to elucidate pro-environmental behaviors while exploratory factor and Spearman correlation analysis were applied to datasets elicited from respondents. The study establishes important positive correlations using Spearman's rank (r = 0.50) based on the findings of our empirical analysis, which suggest that individuals with strong environmental values and rich environmental knowledge are more likely to exhibit behaviors, attitudes and habits that result in effective household water use and management. Additionally, based on the magnitude of the factor loadings, the key results from principal factor analysis were as follows: efficient household water consumption is contingent on fixing household leaks (0.73) and replacing old shower fixtures and water-using appliances (0.66). Nevertheless, China's water resources are insufficient and require efficient management (0.66), the quality of tap water supplies is compromised and cannot be trusted (0.66) and there has been little to no improvement in water quality and availability in the past 10 years in China (0.69). This research reinforces the role of knowledge in shaping behavior, and has policy effects and could serve as a benchmark for measures to reduce household water use.

Evaluation of the Utilization Efficiency of Water Resources in China Based on ZSG-DEA: A Perspective of Water–Energy–Food Nexus

The main resources needed for human survival are water, energy and food, and the research on the relationship among the three resources has become the research topic. Due to the shortage of natural resources, research on the efficiency of water–energy–food (WEF) nexus has become a hot issue among scholars and governments all over the world. The simple models cannot study the correlation among them; the methods of WEF nexus gradually shift from single to integrated model. The data envelopment analysis (DEA) model is the most simple and effective model, which can measure the efficiency value of each decision-making unit (DMU) and overcomes the shortcoming that the evaluation index system needs to give the weight. The DEA can calculate the efficiency value, but it cannot improve the efficiency value of DMU by changing the input. In this paper, the zero-sum gain (ZSG) DEA model is constructed based on zero-sum game theory. The initial efficiency values of 30 provinces in China are calculated, and each DMU is proportionally allocated according to the proportional subtractive method. After several iterations, the efficiency values of all DMUs reach 1, indicating that global optimization has been achieved. Under the condition of effectiveness, the initial input water resources are reconfigured. Finally, some conclusions are made, and optimization strategies are proposed for 30 provinces in China with low water resource utilization efficiency.

Abnormal Concentration Detection Method of Chemical Pollutants Based on Multisensor Fusion

China is a big industrial producer, but also a big producer and user of chemical materials. Although the use of chemical materials has improved the level of industrialization, it has also caused harm to the environment and ecosystem. With the acceleration of China’s industrialization, more and more attention has been paid to the problem of chemical pollution. The pollution of water resources in China has seriously damaged the balance of ecological environment and is also an important factor threatening people’s own health. The detection of chemical pollutants in water resources, especially organic pollutants, has a long way to go. To solve this problem, this paper designs a method of chemical pollutant concentration detection based on multisource information fusion and analyzes the performance of the detection system. Firstly, this paper introduces the main types of situations of chemical pollution at present. Secondly, a multisensor fusion model based on BP neural network is established, and the collected chemical pollutant samples were input into the model. Finally, the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the detected pollutant concentration results shows that the proposed method not only has good detection effect of chemical pollutant concentration but also has good practicability. In a word, the proposed method not only has good theoretical significance but also has certain potential application value.

Investigating the spatial variability of water security risk and its driving mechanisms in China using machine learning

Comprehensively analyzing the present condition of water security and its driving factors at a countrywide scale is of prime importance for systematically and spatially managing water resource in China. In this study, a countrywide and comprehensive water security risk (CWSR) was proposed and calculated as the average of water shortage degree, water pollution level, and water-related hazard risk at catchment unit. Considering the limitations associated with traditional regression-based frameworks in coping with collinearity that might produce regionally different relationships with multiple driving factors, a machine learning method (boost regression tree, BRT) and three machine-learning interpretable techniques were used to determine the mechanisms underlying the spatial variability of CWSR. Results showed that catchments in northern China generally have a higher CWSR than catchments in southern China. The Hai River Basin and its surrounding regions were found to face the most serious water security pressure. Such spatial distributions of CWSR were well predicted by the BRT model with six explanatory variables. Mean annual precipitation (MAP) had the largest influence on CWSR (relative importance of 40.3±2.8%), followed by human influence (Hi, 21.8±2.7%), average slope (S, 15.2±2.7%), river density (Rd, 9.3±1.7%), proportion of land covered by water (Pw, 7.5±1.6%), and river network connectivity (Rc, 5.9±1.1%). However, the relative order of importance of these six driving factors varied between regions, suggesting that the drivers of CWSR varied spatially. Three of the six factors had monotonic negative effects on CWSR including MAP, S, and Pw. CWSR significantly increased with Hi. The relationships of Rd and Rc with CWSR were relatively complex and non-monotonic. By jointly making use of machine learning and further interpretation methods, the spatial variability of water security risks in China and their underlying driving factors were determined, and a new framework for quantitatively understanding the complex mechanisms of regional water security was provided. The results of this study will be helpful in making recommendations for reducing CWSR in China.

Changes of Microbial Diversity in Rhizosphere of Different Cadmium-Gradients Soil under Irrigation with Reclaimed Water

Water scarcity and the uneven distribution of water resources in China have resulted in water shortages for agricultural irrigation in arid and semi-arid areas. Reclaimed water used for agricultural irrigation has become an effective solution in the context of the global water shortage. In order to improve soil productivity and solve the shortage of water resources, we carried out reclaimed water irrigation experiments on polluted soil. Compared with full irrigation treatments, the EC value of reclaimed water under deficit irrigation treatments decreased by 2.89–42.90%, and the content of organic matter increased by 6.31–12.10%. The proportion of Acidobacteria community in soils with different cadmium concentration gradients irrigated with reclaimed water ranged from 13.6% to 30.5%, its relative abundance decreased with the increase of soil cadmium concentration. In particular, the relative abundance of Pseudomonas pathogens in deficit irrigation treatments was lower than that of the full irrigation treatments. RDA analysis showed that the environmental factors that played a leading role in the change of microbial community structure were organic matter and pH. Furthermore, the metabolic function potential of the rhizosphere soil bacterial community in deficit irrigation treatments was higher than that of full irrigation treatments with reclaimed water. This study proved that reclaimed water irrigation for cadmium contaminated soil did not aggravate the pollution level and promoted the soil ecological environment with better microbial community diversity.

The optimal allocation and the evaluation of water resources carrying capacity in Shendong mining area

Coal mining has consumed a large amount of water resources in China, and the entire industrial chain of coal production has a larger consumption of water resources than the past especially in Shendong mining area. The water resources carrying capacity determines the scale of coal industry development. The previous research had been conducted at the national, provincial and municipal levels, but there were few studies on the water resources carrying capacity of coal mining areas. The Shendong mining area is located in the coal-rich and water-scarce western region, where precipitation is low and evaporation is high. As a water-scarce area, the development of Shendong mining area is inseparable from the support of coal resources and the rational use of water resources. Therefore, firstly, taking the Shendong mining area as the research object, this paper set high, medium and low scenarios according to the development goals of Shendong mining area, Shenhua Group and the plans of China. The gray forecast model was used to predict the water demand of the economic-social-ecological system of the mining area from 2020 to 2030 under different scenarios. Secondly, a multi-objective optimization model was established with the objective function to optimize the water resources allocation in Shendong mining area. Thirdly, based on the forecast and optimization results, a water resources carrying capacity evaluation model was constructed to evaluate the water resources carrying capacity of the Shendong mining area. Finally, based on the results, the suggestions for rational development and the utilization of water resources in the Shendong mining area were proposed.

Eutrophication state in the Eastern China based on Landsat 35-year observations

Eutrophication of the eastern plain lake (EPL) region has a significant impact on the sustainable economic development and is closely related to the shortage of water resources in China. Remote sensing provides an effective tool for quantifying the trophic state of inland waters by associating the trophic state index (TSI) with optically active water quality parameters. However, limited by the satellite coverage range and operation time, the long-term changes in the trophic state of the EPL region have not been thoroughly investigated. This study aims to fill this gap by generating a 35-year (1986–2020) TSI dataset of lakes in the eastern plain based on Landsat images. The TSI inversion algorithm based on the algal biomass index (ABI) was designed for Landsat series after consistency analysis. The seasonal variations of the TSI showed the highest TSI (62.0 ± 11.4) in summer and the lowest TSI (51.6 ± 8.0) in winter, with uncertainties caused by the limitation of ABI for extremely turbid waters and the number of Landsat seasonal images. The TSI of the EPLs increased over the past 35 years by about 8.2%. Four change patterns were defined for the long-term interannual TSI variations: increasing trend less than 50% (Mode 1) or more than 50% (Mode 2), breaking points that show a surge trend (Mode 3), and decreasing trend (Mode 4). The contribution of meteorological and anthropogenic factors was calculated using a generalized linear model, which revealed that the eutrophication of inland lakes in the EPL region is mainly affected by industrial wastewater discharge and urban expansion. The influence of these explanatory variables becomes more complex with an increase in lake area. Our research provides an estimation of the TSI for the first 35-year basin-scale in the EPL region and a comprehensive evaluation of the driving factors of inland water eutrophication. The results can be used for the effective management and restoration of lakes.

Diagnostic Quantification of the Cloud Water Resource in China during 2000–2019

Diagnostic Quantification of the Cloud Water Resource in China during 2000–2019