Water Transfer Project Research Articles

Unlikely Alliances in Action: Balancing Alignment and Autonomy in Rural-Urban Water Conflicts

Environmentalists, ranchers, and Indigenous nations are increasingly coming together on environmental issues in what have been called “unlikely alliances,” offering important insights into the role of collaboration and collective action in environmental governance. We examine two cases of unlikely alliances that formed in response to large rural-to-urban water transfer projects in the western United States, drawing on narrative analysis of interviews and focus groups with diverse participants. We highlight several key insights about unlikely alliances in action, finding that they 1) can take many different forms, often shifting over time; 2) require a delicate balance between alignment and autonomy, particularly when involving sovereign Indigenous nations; 3) can involve divergent understandings and expectations in regard to what it means to ally, with a notable distinction between issue-oriented and relationship-oriented approaches, and 4) are valued by participants even as they grapple with these challenges, particularly in the context of growing political polarization.

Inter-basin water transfers and water rebound effects: The South-North water transfer Project in China

Inter-basin water transfers (IBWTs) aimed at mitigating uneven spatial distribution of water offer the potential to save water through changes in water use efficiency. However, the water rebound effect induced by the improved water use efficiency may offset the water-saving effect of IBWTs. Existing studies failed to explain this complex association between IBWTs and the water rebound effect. A conceptual framework of IBWTs and the water rebound effect is proposed in this study, and the causal association between the two and the possible mechanisms involved are scrutinized in the case of China’s South-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP). This study argues a causal association between SNWTP and the mitigation of water rebound effects, which is usually associated with the SNWTP’s ability to change the industrial structure and enhance environmental regulation intensity in water-receiving areas. In addition, SNWTP also improves water availability and reduces water use efficiency, thus indirectly mitigating the water rebound effect. Finally, the influence of SNWTP on water rebound tends to vary depending on the economic and demographic differences in water-receiving areas.

Research on low-energy consumption automatic real-time regulation of cascade gates and pumps in open-canal based on reinforcement learning

ABSTRACT Cascade gates and pumps are common hydraulic structures in the open-canal section of water transfer projects, characterized by high energy consumption and substantial costs, making it challenging to regulate. By implementing cascade gates regulation to control the hydraulic process, lift distribution of pump stations can be optimized, thus enhancing operational efficiency and reducing energy consumption. However, the selection of control models and parameter optimization is difficult because hydraulic processes are nonlinear, high-dimensional, large hysteresis, strong coupling, and time-varying. This study considers minimum energy consumption of pump stations as the regulation objective and employs the reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm for optimization regulation (OR) within a typical canal section of the Jiaodong Water Transfer Project. Our results demonstrate that after regulating, OR can precisely control the water level to achieve the high efficiency lift interval of pump station, enhancing efficiency by 4.12–6.02% compared to previous operation. Moreover, using optimized hyperparameters group, the RL model proves robust under different work conditions. The proposed method is suitable for complex hydraulic processes, highlighting its potential to support more effective decision-making in water resources regulation.

Watersheds and Infrastructure Providing Food, Energy, and Water to US Cities

AbstractCivil infrastructure underpins urban receipts of food, energy, and water (FEW) produced in distant watersheds. In this study, we map flows of FEW goods from watersheds of the contiguous United States to major population centers and highlight the critical infrastructure that supports FEW flows. To do this, we draw upon detailed records of agriculture, electricity, and public water supply production and couple them with commodity flow and infrastructure information. We also compare the flows of virtual water embedded in food and energy commodity flows with physical water flows in inter‐basin water transfer projects around the country. We found that the virtual blue water transfers through crops and electricity to major US cities was 53 billion and 8 billion m3 in 2017, respectively, while physical interbasin water transfers for crops, electricity, and public supply water averaged 20.8 billion m3. Highways are the primary infrastructure used to import virtual water associated with food and fuel into cities, although waterways and railways are most utilized for long‐distance transport. All of the 204 watersheds in the contiguous US support the food, energy, and/or water supplies of major US cities, with dependencies stretching far beyond each city's borders. Still, most cities source the majority of their FEW and embedded water resources from nearby watersheds. Infrastructure such as water supply dams and inland ports serve as important buffers for both local and supply‐chain sourced water stress. These findings can inform efforts to reduce water resources and infrastructure risks in domestic supply chains.

Study on the coupling vibration characteristics of vertical unit and plant of large underground pumping station for water transfer project

Abstract To investigate the coupled vibration characteristics of vertical pumping unit and plant structure of large underground pumping station for water transfer project, the coupled vibration differential equations are established. The structure nodes of are simplified from horizontal direction and vertical direction respectively by force. The structural parameters and load parameters of the model are analyzed and calculated, and the vibration response of each node are calculated by solving the vibration differential equations. A spectral analysis of white noise is applied to the coupled model, and the natural frequencies and vibration structures of dominant vibration modals are obtained. Research indicates that the vertical vibration modes of the system exhibit a relatively low coupling degree with the plant structure. The shaft system and the plant structure mainly display combined vertical vibrations, while the plant structure predominantly exhibits independent vertical vibrations. This implies that vertical vibrations are jointly influenced by shaft system stiffness and plant structure properties. In horizontal vibration modes, a strong coupling characteristic is observed between the upper structure of the pump station unit and the plant structure. This is primarily manifested as coupled vibrations between the support and the plant structure, which are collectively influenced by support constraints, shaft system stiffness, and plant structural properties.

A cooperative control method and application for series multivariable coupled system

Series multivariable coupled system is a typical controlled object in process control industry. The interaction of various state variables between multiple inputs and outputs in the system forms a complex series multivariable coupled structure. This coupled structure makes the control of a controlled object in the system affect the controlled object in the upper and lower control loop. As a result, it is difficult to control one or more control loops in the system without changing the state of other links in the system. In this paper, a cooperative control method for series multivariable coupled system is proposed. A decoupling controller is designed to remove the coupling effect caused by the interaction between stages, and the system is decoupled into several independent control loops. Differential leading PI (proportional-integral) error compensation method is introduced to ensure the following performance of the controller without static error. The proposed cooperative control method satisfies the Lyapunov stability, and has been successfully applied in the simulation experiment of cascade pumping station system of Beijing East-to-West water transfer project. The proposed method reduces the difficulty to controlling the water level of forebay of each pumping station and ensures the efficient operation of the cascade pumping station system.

Systemic Risk Analysis of Safety, Progress, and Investment in the Construction of a Water Transfer Project and the Importance of Common Cause Failure

Safety, progress, and investment risks are correlated during the construction period of large-scale water transfer projects. However, previous studies have only considered individual risk factors, overlooking the potential systemic risk posed to safety, progress, and investment, as well as any underlying common cause failures. Since traditional risk analysis methods are ill-suited to addressing common cause failure, this paper’s objective was to establish a comprehensive evaluation index framework and to identify the basic events of common cause failure. To do that, we developed a risk analysis method that models common cause failure based on a Bayesian network for assessing that systemic risk. The Henan Section of the Yangtze-to-Huaihe River Water Diversion Project in China was then used as a case study. The results show that a variety of common cause failure events, such as epidemic disease, design alteration, lagged approval process, heavy rain in the flood season, renewal material and failing equipment, construction accidents, and external interference, can significantly impact the safety, progress, and investment systemic risk. Design alteration poses the greatest risk, with renewal material and failing equipment exerting the strongest influence among all common cause failure events. It is also possible to elucidate the predominant causal chains; specifically, the contributing influence of each basic failure event to the systemic risk can be clarified by adjusting their respective initial state. The failure of renewal material and failing equipment was found to significantly increase the safety risk. This study effectively simulated the complex causal relationships and uncertainties of pertinent risk factors, thereby enhancing our understanding of the systemic risk associated with safety, progress, and investment in large-scale water transfer projects.

Blast resistance performance and failure modes of prestressed thin-walled aqueducts subjected to underwater contact explosion

To solve the problem of regional water resource shortage, water diversion projects have been built around the world. As an essential lifeline project, the prestressed aqueduct is commonly used in cross-regional water transfer and diversion projects. However, the prestressed aqueduct is inclined to damage and collapse under explosion loading due to its thin structure. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the nonlinear dynamic performance and failure modes of the large prestressed U-shaped thin shell aqueduct to underwater contact explosion. The prestress application approach is validated by theoretical calculations. The reliability of the analysis method of underwater contact explosion for reinforced concrete structures is verified by the underwater contact explosion test. Damage cracking process and nonlinear dynamic response characteristics of prestressed aqueducts to the underwater contact explosion with different explosive weights are performed. Blast resistance performances of prestressed aqueducts are discussed in terms of the crack length, residual displacement, and prestressing force loss. The influence of prestress level on the damage modes of the prestressed aqueduct under the blast loading is discussed. The results indicate that thin-walled U-shaped structures are extremely vulnerable to localized damage from underwater contact explosions. The blast-resistance performance of the U-shaped thin shell aqueduct can be significantly improved by applying prestress.

Do Water Transfer Projects Promote Water Use Efficiency? Case Study of South-to-North Water Transfer Project in Yellow River Basin of China

With a huge capital and labor input influx, inter-basin water transfer (IBWT) projects have been shown to effectively mitigate water stress and ensure the water demand for social and economic development in the receiving area. Whether they have promoted the improvement of regional water use efficiency (WUE) is crucial for sustainable management of regional water resources. Targeting the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP), the largest and most ambitious inter-basin water transfer project in China, this study establishes quantitatively econometric models to analyze the impact of different water diversion projects, specifically the eastern route of the SNWTP (ER-SNWTP), middle route of the SNWTP (MR-SNWTP), and diversion from the main stream of the Yellow River (DYR), on the regional water consumption per unit of GDP; regional water stress, water use structure, economic structure, and urbanization level are used as control variables in different types of cities in the Yellow River Basin, and some intriguing results are found. While the overall water transfer project demonstrates a positive impact on water use efficiency, the effects of the three water transfer measures vary significantly. The ER-SNWTP does not exhibit a notable positive effect on regional water use efficiency, whereas the MR-SNWTP demonstrates a significant positive impact. Interestingly, the DYR has a notable negative influence on water use efficiency in developed cities. The water use structure, shaped by the pricing, scale, and policies of different projects, emerges as a pivotal factor in explaining these differences. Finally, this paper suggests that the impact of water transfer projects on the improvement of regional water use efficiency be viewed from a more comprehensive and developmental perspective.

Water Transfer Energy Efficiency Index for inter‐basin water transfer projects

AbstractInter‐basin water transfer projects (WTPs) address water scarcity by lifting water uphill, posing energy challenges due to diverse topography. This study therefore analyses historical trends in WTP distance, average annual water volumes delivered, water lift and pumping capacity to develop the Water Transfer Energy Efficiency Index (WTEEI) and apply it for the assessment of WTPs. Results indicate that the WTEEI is a valuable tool for evaluating WTP energy efficiency. While no definitive trend in WTEEI values was observed, the findings suggest the need for monitoring of energy use of WTPs and more research to better understand and improve the energy efficiency of these large‐scale infrastructure projects. By introducing a simple, intuitive and rapid assessment tool for evaluating energy efficiency in WTPs, this study addresses a critical gap in the water–energy field, namely, the evaluation of energy usage in WTPs and the identification of energy‐efficiency improvements for current and future WTPs.

Failure probability analysis of high fill levee considering multiple uncertainties and correlated failure modes

Such complex causative factors in current failure probability models are represented by simply random uncertainty and completely independent or correlation of failure modes, which can often limit the model utility. In this study, we developed a methodology to construct failure probability models for high fill levees, incorporating the identification of uncertainties and an analysis of failure modes. Based on quantification of stochastic-grey-fuzzy uncertainties, probability analysis involved with overtopping, instability and seepage failure modes was implemented combined with probability and non-probability methods. Given that the interaction among failure modes typically exhibits nonlinear behavior, rather than linear correlation or complete independence, a simple methodology for the binary Copula function was established and implemented in MATLAB. This methodology was applied to the high fill segments of a long-distance water transfer project characterized by high population density. It shows that the failure probability of a single failure mode is overestimated when uncertainties are not considered, because of the randomness and fuzziness of some parameters and the greyness of information. Meanwhile, it is found that the magnitude of failure probability related to levee breach is overestimated without respect to failure modes correlation, especially when the probabilities of seepage and instability are both significant and closely aligned.

Deformation mechanism and treatment effect of deeply excavated expansive soil slopes with high groundwater level: Case study of MR-SNWTP, China

Taking a 4 km long deeply excavated expansive soil canal segment of the South–North Water Transfer Project Middle Route (MR-SNWTP) in China as an example, a comprehensive investigation of the deformation mechanism and effect of treatment work on the slope with high groundwater level was carried out. First, the project background and initial behaviour were introduced. Second, a series of site investigation, including visual inspection, exploration pit, and geological penetrating radar, was employed to identify the deformation characteristics, appearance damage, and groundwater distribution. Third, the environmental factors were analyzed, and the spatio-temporal deformation characteristics were identified. Then the zoned numerical model was built to analyze the slope stability. Finally, the deformation mechanism and effect of treatment work were discussed. The results show that although the slope surface was replaced with a cement-treated weak expansive soil layer, the water vapor exchange between the undisturbed expansive soils and atmosphere is not completely isolated. The perched groundwater is also still replenished by precipitation infiltration. Groundwater, perched groundwater, long-large fissure and dense fissure zone induce the lateral creep deformation of the slope, and result in significant trend changes. The stability of the deformed body is in a critical state. The critical sliding surface is a broken line consisting of a gentle dip angle at the leading edge and a steep dip angle at the trailing edge. The depth of the potential sliding surface varies due to the geological condition and arrangement of anti-slide piles. Drainage wells can discharge deeper groundwater, thus can lower groundwater level and discharge perched groundwater. Supporting and unloading measures should also be taken to improve the slope stability.

Investigating the Economic Impacts of Inter-Basin Water Transfer Projects with a Water- Embedded Multi - Regional Computable General Equilibrium Approach

Investigating the Economic Impacts of Inter-Basin Water Transfer Projects with a Water- Embedded Multi - Regional Computable General Equilibrium Approach

Conflict analysis of multiple decision-makers ecological environment governance of water resources based on graph model with heterogeneous preference in China's South-to-North water transfer project

Ecological environment governance of water resources is the foundation and key measures to ensure good water quality in China's South-to-North Water Transfer Project. However, as a limited rational economic person, considering their economic benefit, different involvers in China's South-to-North Water Transfer Project show different types of preference relations and make different action decisions as well as play conflicts with each other, which have a negative effect on ecological environmental governance. To overcome above-described shortcomings, heterogeneous preferences are integrated into graph model for conflict resolution (GMCR) to resolve ecological environment governance conflict of water resources. Specifically, first, four different structures of preference expression, including preference orderings, utility functions, multiplicative preferences, and additive preferences, are used to represent decision-maker's (DM's) preference information over states. Then, a novel preference ranking method is designed to calculate the ordinal preferences over all states by using matrix representation. Based on this, a set of heterogeneous stability definitions is proposed in GMCR to describe human diversified choice and behavior in detail, and it is applied to the ecological environment governance conflict of water resources in China's South-to-North Water Transfer Project. The heterogeneous stability analysis result showed that incentive policies used by water resources agencies can effectively encourage local governments and enterprises to actively participate in the ecological environment governance, and promote the ecological environment governance conflict to evolve into a state of equilibrium.

Ecological risk assessment of landscape in arid area watersheds under ecological water conveyance: A case study of Taitema Lake

The Taitema Lake Basin serves as an ecological barrier in the south of the Tarim Basin, connecting with the Qiemo, Ruoqiang, and Milan oases, collectively preventing the expansion and merging of the desert, specifically inhibiting the convergence of the Taklamakan Desert and Lop Nur. In recent years, with changes in the natural environment and an increase in water usage, the downstream flow of the Tarim River has decreased, leading to the gradual drying up of Taitema Lake and exacerbating desertification, resulting in frequent sandstorms. Subsequently, under the influence of ecological water transfer projects, Taitema Lake has gradually recovered, and the ecological environment has improved. This study focuses on Taitema Lake and its nearby regions, constructing the Regional Landscape Ecological Risk Index (ERI) to assess landscape ecological risks before and after ecological engineering and determine ecological benefits. The results indicate that the EWC (Ecological Water Conveyance) project effectively supplements water in the intermediate and lower courses of the Tarim River and the terminal lakes, significantly bolstering ecological conditions in the lake basin and reducing risks. However, the current EWC project is relatively extensive, and the water reaching the Tarim River and Taitema Lake depends entirely on the surplus water from upstream production and daily life. Additionally, the distribution of downstream water depends entirely on natural topography, leading to uneven spatiotemporal distribution of water resources and significant evaporation losses. Rational hydraulic engineering measures should be taken to re-plan the distribution of rivers and lakes, achieving the maximum ecological benefits of the EWC project.

Runoff variation in midstream Hei River, northwest China: Characteristics and driving factors analysis

Study regionThe midstream of the Hei River Basin (HRB). Study focusThe study investigated the changes in hydrological elements at different time scales in the basin from 1982 to 2020. We used the Budyko coupled balance equation to quantitatively assess the contributions of climate change and human activity-induced land surface changes to runoff during different periods. In addition, the driving factors of flow consumption within the basin were analyzed using wavelet coherence and generalized additive model (GAM). New hydrological insights for the regionPrior to 2001, there was a significant decrease in annual-scale runoff in the midstream. After that, a partial recovery was observed due to the influence of the Ecological Water Transfer Project (EWTP), while the NDVI trend exhibited an opposite pattern. The study indicates that human-induced modification of the underlying surface is the primary driving factor for the decrease in runoff, with land surface factors contributing 84.69% and 65.27% to the runoff reduction during two periods of change, respectively. Further research on the driving forces of runoff consumption reveals that vegetation cover and climate factors jointly regulate the variations in runoff consumption in the midstream, with multifactor effects surpassing those of individual factors, and NDVI emerges as the predominant controlling factor for runoff consumption. Moreover, all anthropogenic factors exhibit a high explanatory power for runoff consumption.

Spatiotemporal Variations and Sustainability Characteristics of Groundwater Storage in North China from 2002 to 2022 Revealed by GRACE/GRACE Follow-On and Multiple Hydrologic Data

North China (NC) is experiencing significant groundwater depletion. We used GRACE and GRACE-FO RL06 Level-2 data with Mascon data from April 2002 to July 2022. We fused these two types of data through the generalized three-cornered hat method and further combined them with hydrological models, precipitation, in situ groundwater-level, and groundwater extraction (GWE) data to determine and verify temporal and spatial variations in groundwater storage (GWS) in NC. We quantitatively assessed groundwater sustainability by constructing a groundwater index in NC. We further explored the dynamic cyclic process of groundwater change and quantified the impact of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP) on GWS change in NC. The overall GWS shows a decreasing trend. The GRACE/GRACE-FO-derived GWS change results are consistent with those shown by the in situ groundwater-level data from the monitoring well. Groundwater in NC is in various states of unsustainability throughout the period 2002 to 2022. The SNWTP affected the water use structure to some extent in NC. This study elucidates the latest spatial–temporal variations in GWS, especially in the groundwater sustainability assessment and quantitative description of the effects of the SNWTP on changes in GWS in NC. The results may provide a reference for groundwater resource management.

Risk assessment of inter-basin water transfer plans through integration of Fault Tree Analysis and Bayesian Network modelling approaches

Inter-basin water transfer projects are a common method used to balance water resources and meet regional demand, particularly in the drinking water supply sector. The potential failure risk associated with inter-basin water transfer projects was examined using Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and Fuzzy Fault Tree Analysis (FFTA) methodologies in this study. Additionally, the conversion of Fault Tree models into Bayesian Network (BN) and Fuzzy Bayesian Network (FBN) models was explored. Ten basic events were identified as factors that could affect the success of inter-basin water transfer plans, including socio-political, environmental, water resource, economic, and technical criteria. Fault Tree and Fuzzy Fault Tree models were utilized to conduct a risk analysis, which was then converted into crisp and fuzzy FTA-BN through an integrated approach. This approach was applied to evaluate inter-basin water transfer scenarios from the Great Karun basin to the Central Iran Plateau. The superior scenario among eight water transfer scenarios was found to be water transfer from the Behesht-Abad Basin to Isfahan province and from the Khersan Basin to Kerman and Yazd provinces, with a failure risk of 0.649 and 0.601 respectively, based on the crisp and fuzzy integrated models. Basic events were ranked based on their contribution to the occurrence of the top event using two FIM and BI indices in the Fault Tree model and two indices of MI and SI in the Bayesian Network. Furthermore, after considering the correlation between basic events and risk factors, the risk obtained by crisp and fuzzy integrated models was found to increase to 0.811 and 0.789 respectively. The results of this study demonstrate that an integrated approach can assist decision-makers and stakeholders in evaluating inter-basin water transfer projects.

An Effective Digital Twin Modeling Method for Infrastructure: Application to Smart Pumping Stations

Digital twin technology has evolved from a theoretical concept to practical application, facilitating seamless data exchange between virtual and physical domains. Although there has been progress, the infrastructure industry, which is recognized for its intricate nature and the need for timely action, is still in the first phases of digital twin advancement. A significant obstacle in this field is the absence of established definitions and modeling standards, which impede the precise depiction of infrastructure systems. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a high-precision digital twin modeling method tailored for pumping stations. The method focuses on two key scenarios: first, we construct an overall digital twin model that contains both physical entities and operational processes of pumping stations; second, we design a modeling process applicable to pumping stations by analyzing the deficiencies of the existing standard system. Additionally, we selected the East–West Water Transfer Project in China as a case study to demonstrate the high-precision digital twin model of a pumping station. This model will include essential components, such as the modeling of pumping stations, the operational processes of pumping stations, and the modeling of system operation analysis. Serving as the database for the digital twin, it can complete the automatic inspection of the pumping station, optimization of scheduling, prediction and regulation of energy and carbon emissions, and visualization of results for display and other applications. The model realized the benefits of 100% automatic inspection rate, reduction of eight corresponding operating personnel, and comprehensive cost saving of RMB 2.25 million. The objective of this research is to narrow the divide between theoretical concepts and real-world implementations by pushing the boundaries of digital twin modeling and offering valuable insights for its utilization in the infrastructure industry. It establishes the foundation for progress in the field of digital twin technology in the specific context of intricate infrastructure projects. This project aims to improve the practicality of digital twin technology in real-world situations, namely in the infrastructure industry.

Study on the methodology of emergency decision-making for water transfer project contingencies: A case-based reasoning and regret theory approach.

To tackle the global water imbalance problem, a multitude of inter-basin water transfer projects have been built worldwide in recent decades. Nevertheless, given the complexity and safety challenges associated with project operation, effective emergency decision-making is crucial for addressing unforeseen incidents. Hence, this research has developed a two-stage emergency decision-making framework to tackle the uncertainty in the development trends of emergencies in inter-basin water transfer projects. (1) The first stage mainly utilizes case-based reasoning techniques to extract historical case information and disposal plans for inter-basin water transfer projects. Subsequently, a holistic similarity model is built by employing structural similarity and local attribute similarity algorithms to identify highly similar historical cases. (2) The second stage involves the optimization and adjustment of decision-making plans based on the dynamic evolution characteristics of emergencies. It utilizes the theory of decision-makers regret psychology and combines it with practical case studies to verify the scientific rationality of the method. This enables it to achieve effective multidimensional expression and rapid matching of scenarios, satisfying the decision-making requirements of "scenario response". Finally, this study compares the results obtained from this method with those computed using the traditional TOPSIS method and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method, further validating its feasibility and effectiveness. In practice, this method can provide effective support for decision-makers work.