Identification of Water-Reuse Potentials to Strengthen Rural Areas in Water-Scarce Regions—The Case Study of Wuwei

Sonja Bauer
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Sonja Bauer: Faculty of Geomatics, Computer Science and Mathematics, Hochschule für Technik Stuttgart, Schellingstr. 24, 70174 Stuttgart, Germany

Land, 2020, vol. 9, issue 12, 1-20

Abstract: Due to water scarcity, which is worsening due to climate change, rural areas often face the challenge of rural exoduses. Limited water resources restrict local farmers as the opportunities for cultivation in the fields are reduced. This makes rural areas increasingly unattractive. To strengthen rural areas, sustainable water management with a focus on water-reuse is required. Since treated wastewater is a daily resource with calculable quantities available, reused water can contribute to the sustainable strengthening of a region. Therefore, an analysis of water-reuse potentials must be conducted to develop a water-reuse concept and thus increase the application of reused water. For this purpose, a case study of Wuwei as a rural and water-scarce region in China was chosen. By using a geoinformation system, the unfulfilled water-reuse potential can be identified by intersecting the results of the analysis regarding the current water supply and disposal situation with spatial and regional information, such as population data. Hence, the study presents the potential to increase wastewater treatment and water-reuse for, e.g., agricultural irrigation. It is shown that, in the best case, reused water can be increased from 5479 m 3 per day to 207,461 m 3 per day. Resource efficiency can be further increased by combining water-reuse concepts with land-use strategies adapted to climate change. This will ensure a more sustainable water supply in the future.

Keywords: rural areas; water scarcity; water-reuse; agricultural irrigation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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