479 / 2024-04-18 21:37:30

Study on ecological water supplementation of the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project

middle route of South-to-North Water Diversion Project （MR-SNWDP）; ecological water supplementation; water-receiving region

Subtheme 4: Water-Energy-Food Nexus and Sustainable Economic Development > Topic5: National water network and Sustainable Economic Development

The middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (MR-SNWDP) is a major strategic project to solve the serious water shortage problem in northern China. In recent years, without affecting the normal water supply demand, taking advantage of the favorable conditions of the Danjiangkou Reservoir’s abundant water volume and the remaining water conveying capacity of the main canal, ecological water supply has been implemented to more than 50 rivers in the north, effectively promoting ecological environment recovery of rivers and lakes. Aiming at the current problems of ecological water supplement, this paper studies and analyzes the ecological water supplement capacity of the MR-SNWDP and the ecological water supplement demand of rivers and lakes in the water-receiving area. According to the five core elements of ecological water supplement goals, timing, conditions, demand, and priority objects, an ecological water supplement plan is proposed. The results show that the demand ecological water replenishment demand for rivers and lakes in the water-receiving area is about 2.04 billion cubic meters per year. The basic ecological flow (water level) of rivers and lakes in the water-receiving area, groundwater in over-exploited areas, ecological water use during the critical period of aquatic organism growth and special landscape water use are the goals of ecological water supplement. Before, during and after the flood season are the three stages of implementing ecological water supplement in the water-receiving area. Following the overall planning and scheduling principles of the SNWDP and paying attention to flexibility and limitations are the key conditions for implementing ecological water supplement.