China Water Resources

Analysis of the connotation and theoretical basis of the river concept and its differentiation from non-river objects

As a fundamental concept in the field of river and lake protection and governance, the existing definitions of rivers are mostly confined to physical morphological characterization, without addressing the essential attributes of rivers or considering their interconnections with watersheds. This results in insufficient adaptability and ambiguous identification in practical scenarios. Aiming at such practical problems, focusing on the formation mechanism, ontological composition, and evolution of rivers, as well as their overall watershed correlation, and supported by the hydrological cycle and runoff yield and concentration theory, river life theory, and watershed system theory, this paper refines and defines three core constituent elements of rivers, including water flow, river channel, and watershed. It clarifies that watershed property is the essential characteristic of rivers, and optimizes and improves the existing river concept. On this basis, targeting two core identification difficulties in practical scenarios, namely whether a water object belongs to a river and whether a water object is an independent river or a component of a river system, the paper systematically distinguishes and clarifies the boundaries between rivers and various non-river objects. The research results can effectively remedy the theoretical defects of the current river concept, provide basic support for river and lake surveys, river and lake inventory compilation, river and lake management and protection, and relevant scientific research, and avoid conceptual misuse in practice.

Connotation characteristics, driving mechanism, and development path of river basin economy

The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan, for the first time, incorporates river basin economy into national development planning, explicitly proposes to expand the river basin economic model based on local conditions. River basin economy is a new form of regional economy centered on water resources, using the natural geographical unit of a river basin as its spatial framework, integrating water security, water resource development, aquatic ecological protection, water environment management, and coordinated regional economic development. It represents a key pathway to overcome governance challenges across administrative boundaries in river basins and to realize the transformation of water resource value and regional coordination. Based on the cross-perspective of water resources economy and river basin governance, this paper systematically defined the core connotation of river basin economy from three dimensions—spatial, core, and target—and identified five essential characteristics: holism and systematism, interconnectedness and transmissibility, cross-boundary and synergy, ecological constraints, and multi-value attributes. It deeply analyzed the dual dynamic mechanism of endogenous and exogenous driving from four dimensions of resource endowment, national strategy, market mechanism, and collaborative governance. Based on this analysis and aligned with the top-level planning for the 15th Five-Year Plan, the paper proposed a high-quality development pathway for river basin economy suited to China's national conditions and hydrological realities, aiming to provide theoretical support and practical guidance for promoting coordinated development between upstream and downstream regions and facilitating the realization and conversion of ecological product values within river basins.

Characteristics analysis and response strategies on heavy rainfall disasters triggered by typhoon residual circulation

Typhoons, as highly destructive weather systems, exhibit different disaster-causing characteristics at different stages of their life cycle. However, after a typhoon significantly weakens and is no longer officially tracked, its residual circulation(also referred to as a remnant vortex) could remain quasi-stationary for a considerable time or reintensify. Through interactions with weather systems such as mid-latitude westerly troughs, southerly flows along the edge of the subtropical high, and low-level jets, it can create favorable conditions for precipitation. Such extreme precipitation has caused numerous severe flood disasters worldwide, posing a new challenge for meteorological forecasting and disaster management. Through an analysis of representative domestic and international cases, this paper systematically reveals the severity of disasters induced by residual circulation after the typhoon numbering is discontinued, as well as the underlying physical mechanisms. It also evaluates the deficiencies in existing forecasting and response systems and proposes corresponding countermeasures. The results show that current forecasting capability for both residual circulation and the associated precipitation remains insufficient. Furthermore, the forecasting and early warning systems, along with relevant operational standards, remain inadequate. It is recommended to establish a “24～48 hour key monitoring period after typhoon numbering termination”, formulate operational guidelines for residual circulation forecasting, deeply integrate multi-source data including Fengyun satellite cloud imagery, large-scale environmental fields, and ground-based automatic weather stations, improve numerical models, strengthen the application of ensemble forecasting, and enhance the capability to predict the movement trends of residual circulations. Meanwhile, it is necessary to continuously improve the flood and drought disaster prevention and mitigation system, and enhance public awareness and social resilience, so as to improve disaster response capability throughout the life cycle of typhoons.

From “intangible” to “valuable”: a preliminary exploration of the water-saving volume carbon trading pathway

Advancing carbon peaking in a well-placed and steady manner is a major task for China's economic and social development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Water serves as an important carrier of carbon. Water conservation is not only a core measure for ensuring water security, but also a crucial pathway for achieving carbon emission reductions. Currently, China's efforts to synergize water conservation and carbon reduction face several challenges, including an unclear understanding of the underlying mechanisms, an incomplete quantification system, and an underdeveloped market value for water-saving benefits. This paper systematically investigates the water conservation–carbon reduction synergy mechanisms, examines the relevance of carbon market instruments to water conservation, and explores the potential and pathways for incorporating the carbon reduction value generated by water saving into different carbon markets. The results show that water conservation delivers tangible carbon emission reductions through three synergistic mechanisms, including the water–energy–carbon nexus, the water–waste–carbon nexus, and the water–soil–carbon nexus, thus producing typical ecological benefits in carbon mission reductions. Once water savings are converted into verifiable carbon emission reductions based on these synergy mechanisms, they can be integrated into the carbon market system via the national carbon emission trading market, the national trading market for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction, and local carbon inclusive trading schemes. In addition, a comprehensive safeguard framework covering five dimensions—policy, technology, market, implementation, and capacity building—is required to transform the “intangible” ecological benefits of water-saving carbon reduction into “valuable” market assets. This work provides a theoretical foundation and practical direction for synergistically achieving intensive water resource conservation and utilization and the “dual carbon” goals, and offers a feasibility reference for establishing a novel value realization and investment mechanism for water conservation.

Discussion on the technical path and application scenarios of building a high-quality water conservancy knowledge service platform

As an important component of digital twin water conservancy, the water conservancy knowledge platform provides intelligent support for water conservancy services and serves as a critical foundation for the transformation of these services from model-driven and data-driven to knowledge-driven. To address challenges such as insufficient authority of knowledge, insufficient systematization, and limited application scenarios, based on the construction practice of the digital twin water network knowledge platform, this paper proposed a “1+2+6” water conservancy knowledge service platform construction concept with the core of “underlying support–core engine–top-level service”. The paper systematically outlined the full-chain implementation pathways, including knowledge resource aggregation, quality control, governance integration, systematic management, knowledge graph construction, knowledge service engine development, knowledge resource management and application, as well as value assessment and circulation of knowledge resources. The application of the knowledge service platforms in business scenarios such as water network intelligent scheduling, happy rivers and lakes construction and management, engineering hazards and faults identification, virtual simulation teaching practices, compilation of water conservancy knowledge corpora, and circulation of trusted water conservancy knowledge data elements was explored. At present, water conservancy knowledge platforms are generally deficient in high-quality knowledge resources. This paper systematically outlines the routes for the collection, processing, and application of such resources, offering valuable references and insights for both the development of high-quality water knowledge assets and the building of water conservancy knowledge platforms.

Baseline survey and analysis of characteristic pollutants along the Wangyu River

The Wangyu River is a key conduit of the Yangtze-to-Taihu water diversion project, and its water quality is directly related to the water supply security of the Taihu Lake basin. In this study, a comprehensive baseline survey was conducted simultaneously along the main stem and tributaries of the Wangyu River and the Gonghu water source, targeting four categories of characteristic pollutants—heavy metals, algal toxins, plasticizers, and emerging contaminants—to investigate their spatial distribution and variation patterns. The results reveal a general decreasing trend in pollutant concentrations from the Wangyu Sluice toward the Gonghu Lake. The sluice, serving as the entry point of the diverted flow, is identified as the primary source of heavy metals and plasticizers, while the tributaries along the Wangyu River corridor emerge as potential risk zones for algae and emerging contaminants. Based on the spatial distribution characteristics of the pollutants, differentiated control measures were proposed for three types of risk zones: the area near the sluice, the tributary regions, and the Gonghu water source area. For the vicinity of the sluice, point-source interception of industrial antimony and plasticizers along with routine online monitoring is recommended. For the tributary areas, enhanced management of nitrogen and phosphorus non-point sources coupled with algal early warning systems and emergency odor-removal treatment processes should be implemented. For the Gonghu water source area, a long-term monitoring mechanism for microcystins and perfluorooctanoic acid(PFOA) should be established. Although constrained by the limited spatiotemporal representativeness of a single sampling campaign and the absence of monitoring of sediment analysis and PFOA homologues, this baseline survey provides fundamental data for coordinated water quantity–quality regulation of the Yangtze-to-Taihu water diversion project. It also points toward future research directions, including long-term monitoring, sediment–water interface flux studies, and systematic assessment of emerging contaminants.

Dynamic identifcation of the end of Meiyu period and post-food season in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River for real-time forecasting and operation

In the context of global climate change, the seasonal flood patterns in the Yangtze River basin have become increasingly complex, rendering traditional static flood season delineation methods insufficient for the refined operation requirements of reservoirs. To improve the utilization efficiency of floodwater resources, this paper proposed a dynamic identification method for the post-flood season in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, oriented to real-time forecasting and operation. The study constructed a comprehensive index system for the end of Meiyu period in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, which includes rainfall indicators and atmospheric circulation indicators. By comprehensively adopting multiple methods such as statistical staging theory, rising and falling water classifcation analysis, and trend division-ranking analysis of hydrological factors, key hydrological discrimination conditions for the middle reaches of the Yangtze River entering the post-food season, such as water level and discharge, were proposed. A long short-term memory network model was used to simulate the operation process of the Three Gorges Reservoir, and the food control risk of the dynamic control of the operation water level of the Three Gorges Reservoir in the post-food season was evaluated. The results indicate that the proposed dynamic discrimination technique introduces no food control risk in measured major food years in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, such as 1954, 1998, and 2020, and can effectively advance the time when the middle reaches of the Yangtze River enter the post-food season in typical dry years, such as 1972, 1978, 2006, and 2022, on the premise of ensuring food control safety. The results of stochastic runoff experiments also demonstrate that when the Three Gorges Reservoir adopts the dynamic control and operation strategy of the operation water level in the post-food season, the food control risks at the Lianhuatang and Shashi stations are approximately 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively, and the overall risks are manageable. The research results can provide a scientifc basis for the post-food season operation of cascade reservoirs such as the Three Gorges Reservoir.

Pilot studies and reflections on deep groundwater recharge and restoration in North China

Overdraft of confined deep groundwater remains a serious issue in North China, where natural recovery is difficult due to limited recharge and slow renewal of deep aquifers. This has led to the long-term existence of groundwater depression cones, further triggering a series of ecological damages and geological hazards such as ground subsidence and seawater intrusion, exerting ongoing impacts on regional production, livelihoods, and ecological security. To address the groundwater depletion caused by long-term overdraft, a coordinated “point-line-area” approach and a comprehensive governance and restoration model integrating “suppression, recharge, and reinjection” have been proposed. This paper introduces the conditions and progress of recharge experiments conducted at four established pilot sites, and summarizes the findings and outcomes of a series of thematic studies carried out in conjunction with these recharge trials. Existing challenges of the pilot projects are identified, including short experimental durations,insufficient research, unoptimized water sources, and the need for improved test site conditions. In response, several targeted recommendations are proposed: extending the duration and depth of experimental studies, optimizing recharge areas and water sources, advancing research on anti-blocking and permeability-enhancement technologies,strengthening scientific and technical support, evaluating recharge effectiveness, improving research platform infrastructure, and increasing dedicated financial support, aiming to provide experiences for systematic recharge and restoration of deep groundwater and ensure sustainable utilization of groundwater resources.

Speech at the Symposium on Ecological Protection and High-quality Development of the Yellow River Basin

Water Rights and Water Markets: Discussing Economic Means for Achieving Optimal Allocation of Water Resources

This article serves as a speech outline prepared for the 2000 annual conference of the China Institute of Water Resources. On March 30, 1999, during the Seventh National Congress of the China Institute of Water Resources, I presented the viewpoint of "transitioning from engineering water resources to resource-based water resources." That speech cannot be considered a purely academic theoretical article; rather, it was a set of requirements for water resources work based on the practical development of water resources. It aimed to initiate a major discussion on "how China's water resources should face the 21st century" and fulfilled my responsibilities as a leader. Similarly, "Water Rights and Water Markets", although discussing issues of water economics, does not make me an expert in this field. Instead, the urgent demand for the reform and development of water resources in China requires us to research and address such topics. I have merely laid the groundwork to draw attention to this issue.

The Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan(2021—2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 of P. R. China

Analysis of Water Supply and Demand in 21st Century China: Ecological Water Conservancy Research

Facing the resource and environmental challenges in 21st-century China, the issue of water is particularly severe. Scarcity and wastage coexist; abundance and ecological imbalance coexist; contamination and poor management coexist. In fact, there are interconnected and transformative relationships among water resources, water disasters, and water environments. Water, as a core element of ecology and the environment, has positive effects when utilized efficiently as a water resource. However, fluctuations in its abundance and scarcity can lead to water-related disasters, while its quality evolution is closely related to water management and environmental protection efforts...

River health connotation

River health, as one of the river assessment tools, rather than a strictly scientific concept performs a well function in setting up relative bench mark and evaluable criterion, Based on it , river ecosystem states , which varies under double actions of nature force and human activity, could be dynamically monitored and evaluated in order to predict its revolution trend through research and prompt its well development through management. The river health assessment should exhibit the balance between development and protection, the benefit coordinating among correlatively interested individuals and groups. Since water pollution becomes the severest threat to river health in our country, so at present stage of our ecologic environmental construction , its control and treatment should be put in the first place.

A preliminary discussion of the engineering ethics and advanced cultural in Dujiang Weir

The Chinese people has thousands years of history for water governance.The practices of water governance,utilization and management of successive dynasties have left us with rich material,institutional and spiritual wealth.In order to explore the multiple values of this world cultural heritage,discussions are made on the contribution of those outstanding water projects represented by Dujiang Weir,so that Chinese wisdom and China's plan can be developed to address issues of imbalance between water supply and demand and other water crisis.Eco-friendly water project construction in the new age should be led by advanced water culture,with learning from good practices of Dujiang Weir from conservation and cultural prospective,so as to build a society with harmony of man and water and water structures in a modernized and eco-friendly ways.

Human activity and the global climate change and its impact on water resources

In understanding the effect of human activity on the global climate change for recent 100 years, IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has played a key role. During 17 years from 1990, IPCC has continuously gained insight into better understanding on the global climate change during the recent 100 years mainly caused by human activity, with its four assessment reports. This achievement has been made with provision of three aspects of evidences: (1) rapid increase in greenhouse gases since preindustrial era (after 1750); (2) temperature rise or warning of surface, tropospospere and oceans; (3) 100-yr climate simulations since 1900 for detection and attribution of the past climate change. These results have shown that recent 100-yr warming is jointly caused by natural climate fluctuation and anthropogenic activity, but most of recent 50-yr climate change is caused by the authropogenic activity. The present paper has first reviewed this issue. Then, the debates and uncenrtainties of global climate change issue have been discussed. The global climate change has had a significant impact on global water resources and management. This issue is further discussed based on changes in temperature, precipitation, sea level rise and evapotranspiration, which may be a necessary scientific basis for adaptation.

Discussions on key issues of water ecological civilization construction

How to understand water ecological civilization construction? On the basis of the interpretation of the spirit of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,this paper analyses and discusses several key issues of water ecological civilization as follows.First,the definition and connotation of water ecological civilization are given and the links between water ecological civilization construction and ecological civilization construction proposed by the state are elaborated.In addition,this paper analyses the crucial issues which should be paid attention to during the process of advancing water ecological civilization,and proposes specific recommendations to help to make the 5 goals of water ecological civilization come to be realized.

Speech at the Symposium on Ecological Protection and High-quality Development of the Yellow River Basin

The Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan(2021—2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 of P. R. China