scholarly journals Reconstructed natural runoff suggests imbalance in water scarcity between upstream and downstream regions of China's river basins

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinyao Zhou ◽  
Yonghui Yang ◽  
Zhuping Sheng

Abstract. The increasing conflicts for water resources appeal for chronological insight into the imbalance water scarcity between upstream and downstream regions. While the changes of water scarcity in whole basins have been widely analysed, the divergent development of water scarcity between upstream and downstream regions received little concern. Here non-anthropologically intervened runoff (natural runoff) was first reconstructed in China's 67 basins for the period 1961–2010 using the Fu–Budyko framework and then systematically evaluated in comparison with the observed data. Divergent changes in water scarcity, including water stress and water shortage, between upstream and downstream regions were analyzed for the period of 1980s–2000s. The results showed that surface water withdrawal rapidly increased from 140.8 billion m3 (9 % of natural runoff) in 1980s to 189.7 billion m3 (14 %) in 2000s, with 73 % increase occurring in North China (North of the Yangtze River). This led to severe water scarcity of approximately 0.4 billion people (29 % of population) in 2000s in comparison with only ~ 0.2 billion people (17 %) in the 1980s, with all increase of water scarcity-threaten population in North China. Since 1990s, the increase of upstream water withdrawal came along with the decrease of downstream surface water availability in most northern basins, leading to slower increase in upstream water scarcity and faster increase in downstream water scarcity. Even though restrict water management policy restrained upstream surface water withdrawal in some northern basins over latest decade, the effect of such a reduction in upstream surface water withdrawal was too little to stop the continued decline in downstream surface water accessibility. Meanwhile, semi-arid/humid basins are following in the footsteps of arid basins by rapidly increasing upstream surface water withdrawal. The Chinese case study provides an all-round observation of the imbalance upstream–downstream development in water scarcity, as well as the experiences and lessons from different water management strategies.

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 1020-1036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verónica Ruiz-Ortiz ◽  
Santiago García-López ◽  
Abel Solera ◽  
Javier Paredes

Abstract The entry into force of Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 23 October 2000 established a new model for the management and protection of surface water and groundwater in Europe. In this sense, a thorough knowledge of the basins is an essential step in achieving this European objective. The utility of integrative decision support systems (DSS) for decision-making in complex systems and multiple objectives allows decision-makers to identify characteristics and improve water management in a basin. In this research, hydrological and water management resource models have been combined, with the assistance of the DSS AQUATOOL, with the aim of deepening the consideration of losses by evaporation of reservoirs for a better design of the basin management rules. The case study treated is an Andalusian basin of the Atlantic zone (Spain). At the same time, different management strategies are analysed based on the optimization of the available resources by means of the conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tong Thi Hoang Duong ◽  
Avner Adin ◽  
David Jackman ◽  
Peter van der Steen ◽  
Kala Vairavamoorthy

Author(s):  
S. Selvakumar ◽  
S. Sakthivel ◽  
Akihiko Kamoshita ◽  
R. Babu ◽  
S. Thiyageshwari ◽  
...  

A field experiment was conducted at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, during summer 2019 to study about the changes in physiological parameters of rice under various establishment and water management strategies and to find out the suitable method of rice establishment and irrigation management practices for tank irrigated command areas during water scarcity situation. Field experiment comprised of four establishment methods in combination with four irrigation management strategies. Medium duration fine grain rice variety TKM 13 was used for the study. Results of the study revealed that machine transplanting under unpuddled soil combined with irrigation after formation of hairline crack recorded improved physiological parameters and yield. It was on par with machine transplanting under unpuddled soil combined with irrigation when water level reaches 5 cm below soil surface. Higher gross return, net return and B:C ratio were observed with machine transplanting under unpuddled soil combined with irrigation after formation of hairline crack. This was followed by machine transplanting under unpuddled soil combined with irrigation when water level reaches 5 cm below soil. Hence, the result of study concluded that machine transplanting under unpuddled soil combined with irrigation when water level reaches 5 cm below soil surface can be recommended as the suitable technology for the farmers of tank irrigated command area to get higher return with minimum use of resources under water scarcity situation.


2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (9) ◽  
pp. 35-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
X.C. Wang ◽  
P.K. Jin

This paper analyses the present condition of the water shortage in north China where annual rainfall is low and per capita water resource is below the line of regular water stress, or even the line of absolute water scarcity. Of the available water resources, the percentge of water withdrawal in all the north basins is high – the Yellow River and Huai River basins being greater than 80% and the Hai River basin mainly depending on interbasin water transfer. Over-withdrawal of water also results in serious water environmental problems including “flow cut-off” of the Yellow River main channel and water pollution of many rivers. The paper also analyses the potential of wastewater as a resource and the demand for treated wastewater re-use. In north China, due to low rainfall and high potential evaporation environmental re-use, gardening, afforestation, etc. is considered as the main usage of the treated wastewater. Considering the economic restrictions in the less developed area, a decentralised system can be taken as an important option in formulating water re-use strategies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1026 (1) ◽  
pp. 012001
Author(s):  
J S Sudarsan ◽  
Kakuru Jyothi Priyanka Reddy ◽  
Haseeb.A.H. Biyabani ◽  
Purnima Kumari ◽  
Swati Sinha

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 726
Author(s):  
James L. Webber ◽  
Martijn Kuller

Surface water flooding poses significant threats to communities and environments. This threat has historically been managed through sewers and combined sewer overflows; however, it is now well recognised that, alone, these legacy systems are insufficient to manage the growing pressures from climate change, population growth and urbanisation. This realisation has led to research and practice developing a broad range of new technologies to enhance the coping capacities of existing sewer systems through capturing and attenuating or reusing surface water across catchments using sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). However, despite technical understanding, industry champions and significant best practice, SuDS remain underutilised, particularly at a synergistic catchment scale where they can be most effective. In this paper we respond to this challenge by developing preliminary screening tools to enhance the visibility of SuDS among the multidisciplinary decision-makers responsible for directing strategic surface water management. We achieve this through upscaling a regional decision support model and demonstrating implementation across a case study in South West England. We find that it is possible to use easily accessible and open-source data to provide initial indications of SuDS opportunities and that this early visibility in the decision-making process can be used to support the consideration of novel and effective surface water management strategies.


2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 437-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. T. Raadgever ◽  
E. Mostert ◽  
N. C. van de Giesen

Abstract. An overview of stakeholder perspectives promises to be useful in the agenda setting phase of water management policy processes. This paper compares different methods to measure perspectives, and identifies Q methodology as a structured method that allows for unbiased analysis. It is one of the first water management papers about Q methodology, and it presents a detailed discussion of the practical possibilities and limitations of the method, using future flood management in the Rhine basin as a case study. The application shows that there are three different stakeholder perspectives that are shared within groups of respondents: A) "Anticipation and institutions", B) "Space for flooding" and C) "Knowledge and engineering". The paper concludes that Q methodology can be used in practice to comprehensively elicit individual perspectives, to aggregate them in an objective way, and to identify major knowledge gaps and divergent goals. Because the method requires quite some skills and time from the analyst, and the sorting task may be difficult for the respondents, it is most appropriate for in-depth analysis. Additional research is required on how to use stakeholder perspectives in the development of mutual understanding and consensus in water management policy processes.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document