Irrigation-Induced Changes in Evapotranspiration Demand of Awati Irrigation District, Northwest China: Weakening the Effects of Water Saving?

Water shortage and soil salinization are the main issues threatening the sustainable development of agriculture and ecology in the Hetao Irrigation District (HID). The application of water-saving practices is required for sustainable agricultural development. However, further study is required to assess the effects of these practices on water and salt dynamics in the long term. In this study, the impacts of different water-saving practices on water and salt dynamics were investigated in the HID, Northwest China. The SAHYSMOD (integrated spatial agro-hydro-salinity model) was used to analyze the water and salt dynamics for different water-saving irrigation scenarios. The results indicate that the SAHYSMOD model shows a good performance after successful calibration (2007–2012) and validation (2013–2016). The soil salinity of cultivated land in the middle and upper reaches of the irrigation district decreased slightly, while that in the lower reaches increased significantly over the next 10 years under current irrigation and drainage conditions. It is predicted that if the amount of water diverted is reduced by up to 15%, the maximum water-saving volume could reach 650 million m3 yr–1. For the fixed reduction rate of total water diversion, the prioritized measure should be given to reduce the amount of field irrigation quota, and then to improve the water efficiency of the canal system. Although a certain amount of water can be saved through various measures, the effect of water saving in the irrigation district should be analyzed comprehensively, and the optimal water management scheme should be determined by considering the ecological water requirement in the HID.

Download Full-text

Exploring Northwest China's agricultural water-saving strategy: analysis of water use efficiency based on an SE-DEA model conducted in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2016.286 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 74 (5) ◽

pp. 1106-1115 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

L. Mu ◽

L. Fang ◽

H. Wang ◽

L. Chen ◽

Y. Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Resources ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Water Demand ◽

Water Governance ◽

Northwest China ◽

Water Saving ◽

Shaanxi Province ◽

Agricultural Water ◽

Use Efficiency

Worldwide, water scarcity threatens delivery of water to urban centers. Increasing water use efficiency (WUE) is often recommended to reduce water demand, especially in water-scarce areas. In this paper, agricultural water use efficiency (AWUE) is examined using the super-efficient data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach in Xi'an in Northwest China at a temporal and spatial level. The grey systems analysis technique was then adopted to identify the factors that influenced the efficiency differentials under the shortage of water resources. From the perspective of temporal scales, the AWUE increased year by year during 2004–2012, and the highest (2.05) was obtained in 2009. Additionally, the AWUE was the best in the urban area at the spatial scale. Moreover, the key influencing factors of the AWUE are the financial situations and agricultural water-saving technology. Finally, we identified several knowledge gaps and proposed water-saving strategies for increasing AWUE and reducing its water demand by: (1) improving irrigation practices (timing and amounts) based on compatible water-saving techniques; (2) maximizing regional WUE by managing water resources and allocation at regional scales as well as enhancing coordination among Chinese water governance institutes.

Download Full-text

RESPONSES OF SHALLOW GROUNDWATER SYSTEM TO DIFFERENT WATER-SAVING PRACTICES IN TYPICAL IRRIGATION AREA IN NORTHWEST CHINA

Environmental Engineering and Management Journal ◽

10.30638/eemj.2020.148 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (9) ◽

pp. 1583-1592

Author(s):

Xiaogang Fu ◽

Fenggang Dai ◽

Huanjie Cai ◽

Jianqiang He

Keyword(s):

Shallow Groundwater ◽

Northwest China ◽

Water Saving ◽

Groundwater System ◽

Irrigation Area ◽

Shallow Groundwater System

Download Full-text

Study on Double-Level Allocation of Irrigation Water Rights

10.21203/rs.3.rs-802253/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xinjian Guan ◽

Qiongying Du ◽

Wenge Zhang ◽

Baoyong Wang

Keyword(s):

Water Resources ◽

Water Consumption ◽

Optimal Allocation ◽

Water Rights ◽

Scientific Basis ◽

Water Saving ◽

Irrigation District ◽

Allocation Model ◽

Irrigation Area ◽

Irrigation Districts

Abstract Establishing and perfecting the water rights system is an important way to alleviate the shortage of water resources and realize the optimal allocation of water resources. Agriculture is an important user of water in various water-consumption industries, the confirmation of water rights in irrigation districts to farmers is the inevitable requirement for implementing fine irrigation in agricultural production. In this paper, a double-level water rights allocation model of national canals – farmer households in irrigation district is established. It takes into account the current water consumption of the canal system, the future water-saving potential and the constraint of total amount control at the canal level. It takes into account the asymmetric information of farmer households’ population and irrigation area at the farmer household level. Furthermore, the Gini coefficient method is used to construct the water rights allocation model among farmer households based on the principle of fairness. Finally, Wulanbuhe Irrigation Area in the Hetao Irrigation Area of Inner Mongolia is taken as an example. The results show that the allocated water rights of the national canals in the irrigation district are less than the current because of water-saving measures and water rights of farmer household get compensation or cut respectively. The research has fully tapped the water-saving potential of irrigation districts, refined the distribution of water rights of farmers and can provide a scientific basis for the development of water rights allocation in irrigation districts and water rights transactions between farmers.

Download Full-text