Effects of Water Management Strategies on Water Balance in a Water Scarce Region: A Case Study in Beijing by a Holistic Model

Zhigong Peng, Baozhong Zhang, Xueliang Cai and Lei Wang
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Zhigong Peng: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
Baozhong Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
Xueliang Cai: International Water Management Institute, Southern Africa Office 141, Cress well Street, Weavind Park, Pretoria 0184, South Africa
Lei Wang: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: Irrigation is facing increasing pressure from other competitive water users to reduce water consumption in a water scarce region. Based on the Basin-wide Holistic Integrated Water Assessment (BHIWA) model, the effects of water management strategies on water balance in the dry regions of North China were analyzed. The results show that, with the decrease of irrigation water supply reliability (IWSR) and the increase of irrigation water use efficiency (WUE), irrigation water use decreased significantly, leading to reduced agriculture water consumption, and sustained ground water levels. Compared with the increase of WUE, the decrease of IWSR contributes more to reducing irrigation water consumption and protecting groundwater. Sensitivity tests show that among various water cycle components, irrigation water use is most sensitive to changes, followed by agriculture water consumption, and then groundwater level. Reducing IWSR is an effective strategy to reduce irrigation water consumption and promote sustainable water resources management, which could be the support of basic data and theory for regional water resources planning.

Keywords: irrigation; water supply reliability; water use efficiency; agricultural water consumption; groundwater level; sensitivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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