Simulation Study on the Optimisation of Replenishment of Landscape Water with Reclaimed Water Based on Transparency

Dong Ao, Lijie Wei, Liang Pei (), Chengguo Liu and Liming Wang ()
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Dong Ao: College of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Xi’an Polytechnic University, Xi’an 710048, China
Lijie Wei: College of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Xi’an Polytechnic University, Xi’an 710048, China
Liang Pei: Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Chengguo Liu: China National Chemical Urban Investment Company Limited, Xi’an 710048, China
Liming Wang: College of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Xi’an Polytechnic University, Xi’an 710048, China

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: Water-scarce cities have fewer surface water (SW) resources available for ecological use, causing landscape water to deteriorate due to water shortage and fail to perform their intended landscape functions. As a result, many cities use reclaimed water (RW) to replenish them. However, this could cause concern among the people, as RW usually has higher nutrient concentrations, which may stimulate algae growth and deteriorate the aesthetic senses of the receiving water bodies. In order to assess the feasibility of using RW for this purpose, this study used Xingqing Lake in Northwest China as insight into the effect of RW replenishment on the visual landscape quality of urban landscape water. Water transparency (measured by SD) is used as an intuitive indicator to reflect the comprehensive influence of suspended solids and algae growth on the water’s aesthetic quality. Scenario analyses were carried out after calibrating and validating one-year data in MIKE 3 software with both SD and algae growth calculations, and the results showed that the low concentration of suspended matter in RW could compensate for the decrease in SD due to algal blooms caused by high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus, and the effect on SD is especially pronounced under conditions that are not conducive to algal growth, such as good flow conditions and low temperature. In addition, to meet a SD ≥ 70 mm, the total water inflow required can be significantly reduced with the optimal application of RW. It is also indicated that partial or complete utilization of RW to replace SW for replenishing the landscape water could be feasible from the viewpoint of landscape quality, at least for the landscape water investigated in this study. This can provide a method for the improvement to urban water management practices by using RW for replenishment in water-scarce cities.

Keywords: landscape urban water; water transparency; algae growth; water replenishment; reclaimed water (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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