Integrated assessment model of water resources constraint intensity on urbanization in arid area

Water has become a key restricting factor of the urbanization process in developing arid areas.Based on qualitative and quantitative methods,we constructed an integrated in-dicator system to assess the status of water resources and urbanization system in arid area,and established an AHP model reformed by entropy technology to evaluate the temporal and spatial variations of water resources constraint intensity on urbanization.This model is ap-plied to the Hexi Corridor,a typical arid area in NW China.Results show that,water resources constraint intensity on urbanization in the Hexi Corridor is bigger in the east and smaller in the west.It has changed from the less strong constraint type into the strong constraint type from 1985 to 2005,yet it decreased appreciably in recent years.At present,most areas in the Hexi Corridor belong to the less strong or strong constraint type.Through rational adjustment of water resources and urbanization system,the Hexi Corridor can still promote water resources sustainable utilization and accelerate the urbanization process.This study suggests that the integrated assessment model of water resources constraint intensity on urbanization is an effective method to analyze the conflicts between water resources and urbanization system in arid area.

Water Resources and Management under Increasing Urban Demography: A Kenyan Perspective—A Review

The United Nations classifies Kenya as a water-scarce country since it has less than 1000 m3 per capita of renewable freshwater supplies. Numerous factors including global warming, contamination of drinking water, and a lack of investment in water resources have aggravated the water crisis in Kenya. Estimates indicate that only about 56% of its population has access to safe water supply. Like many developing countries, Kenya recognizes the crucial role of water in realizing its development goals. Its economic performance and poverty reduction are critically dependent on clean water availability for agriculture, industrialization, energy production and tourism among others. Similar to most developing countries, Kenya suffers from lack of human, monetary and institutional capabilities to efficiently provide clean and sufficient water to its citizens. The water shortage in the major cities is acute and chronic and has continued to worsen with increasing urbanization, water pollution and encroachment of water catchment areas by humans and invasive plant species. Despite the water challenges facing the urban populations, Kenya possesses sufficient water resources to meet demand if the available resources are properly managed. Several initiatives are being put in place in Kenya to mitigate the water challenges and protect water resources in Kenya. These include enacting of water policies to protect water catchment areas, reduce pollution and enhance access to clean water.

FACILITATING REGIONAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH INTEGRATED MULTI-OBJECTIVE UTILIZATION, MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES IN THE LANCANG-MEKONG RIVER BASIN

The Lancnag Mekong River is the most important international river across China and Southeast Asia, If it is developed according to 'Great Mekong Subregional Cooperation Plan' [9] prepared by ADB, the area directly affected will be up to over 2.32 million km 2, the population over 220 million, and the natural environment, and socio-economic conditions within a large area will be greatly changed. 'Agreement on Cooperation for Sustainable Development of Mekong Basin' signed by the four riparian countries along the lower Mekong River on April 5, 1995 provides a new opportunity for sustainable development of the Basin. According to preliminary analysis, if the multipurpose utilization of the water resources is the target for carrying out integrated planning and management, and the efforts are made 1) to focus on energy exploitation on the Lancang River Mainstream and the tributaries of the lower Mekong River; 2) to build gated weirs at Tonle Sam; 3) to construct spillways at the Mekong Delta; 4) to facilitate flood dykes in big cities and on both banks of the mainstream which are concentrated with population and farmland and liable to be flooded, and 5) to strengthen networks for forecasting hydrological and meteorological conditions, then all problems such as power demand, irrigation, flood, salt water intrusion as well as acid water erosion to soil could be solved without constructing large cascaded stations and dams on the lower Mekong Mainstream. This will not only avoid input of great number of fund, large scale resettlement and land inundation, but also prevent aquatic organisms living in Mekong River from being injured due to dam construction, and promote the sustainable development of the Basin.

Coupled planning of water resources and agricultural land-use based on an inexact-stochastic programming model

Water resources are fundamental for support of regional development. Effective planning can facilitate sustainable management of water resources to balance socioeconomic development and water conservation. In this research, coupled planning of water resources and agricultural land use was undertaken through the develop- ment of an inexact-stochastic programming approach. Such an inexact modeling approach was the integration of interval linear programming and chance-constraint pro- gramming methods. It was employed to successfully tackle uncertainty in the form of interval numbers and probabil- istic distributions existing in water resource systems. Then it was applied to a typical regional water resource system for demonstrating its applicability and validity through generating efficient system solutions. Based on the process of modeling formulation and result analysis, the developed model could be used for helping identify optimal water resource utilization patterns and the corresponding agri- cultural land-use schemes in more, a number of decision three sub-regions. Further- alternatives were generated under multiple water-supply conditions, which could help decision makers identify desired management policies.

System Dynamics Model of Urban Water Resources Use and It’s Application

A new urban water resources use and forecasting model consturcted by comprehensive considering the balance between the supply and demand of the water resources system to an industry city and the feedback relationship of the water resources control policy,and by applying DYNAMO language is presented in this paper.It can give more rational data of urban water resources simulation and planning than that given by the growth rate trend forecasting method.

Optimization research on supply and demand system for water resources in the Chang-Zhu-Tan urban agglomeration

Using system analysis theory and methods, a dynamic model of a water resource supply and demand system was built to simulate trends in the supply and demand of water in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan （Chang-Zhu-Tan） urban agglomeration for the period 2012 to 2030. Four scenarios were examined; namely, a traditional development model, an economic development model, a water-saving model, and a coordinated development model. （i） The problem of balancing water resource supply and demand is becoming increasingly conspicuous with a growing population and a rapidly developing economy. （ii） By 2030, water demand is set to reach a total of 105.1 × 10^8 m^3, with a water supply of 5.4 × 10^8 m^3. A coordinated development model for water resource supply could meet the growing demands of socio-economic development, and generate huge comprehensive benefits. This will be the best solution for the development and utilization of a water resource supply and demand system in the Chang-Zhu-Tan urban agglomeration. （iii） We should accelerate the construction of water conservation projects, strengthen the management of water conservation, optimize economic structures, enhance our awareness of the importance of protecting water resources, hasten the recycling of waste water and environmental improvement, and promote utilization efficiency, and support the capabilities of water resources to meet our expectations.

Interactions between water-land resources and oasis urban development at the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains,Xinjiang,China

Urban development in arid and semi-arid regions is largely constrained by fragile physical environ- ments. The characteristics of an urban settlement are different from those in other regions of China. This paper analyses the coupling characteristics and spatio-temporal variations for oasis urban development and water-land resources at the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains by principal component analysis and a coupling degree model. The result shows that the degree and change in regional use of water and land resources are different among the studied cities/counties during their development. The built-up areas of these cities/counties have changed little with increasing populations and urbanization levels, which well reflects that the urban development in arid and semi-arid regions is limited by oasis areas. Per capita amount of water supplied, however, presented a trend of slowed growth with increasing levels of urbanization. Water consumption gradually increased with urban development and the improvement of people＇s living standards, accompanied by enhanced water use efficiency. The level of urbanization can be assessed through the coupling degree between oasis urban development and the use of water and land resources. A high coupling degree represents a high level of comprehensive urban devel- opment and use of water-land resources. Alternatively, a low coupling degree denotes a low level of urban devel- opment and water-land resource use.

Integrated water resources management for emergency situations： A case study of Macao

Integrated urban water management （IUWM） is a useful tool that can be used to alleviate water resource shortages in developing regions like Macao, where 98% of the raw water comes from China's Mainland. In Macao, scarce water resources deteriorate rapidly in emergency situations, such as accidental chemical spills upstream of the supply reservoir or salty tides. During these times, only the water from the two freshwater reservoirs in Macao can be used. In this study, we developed urban water management optimization models that integrated the raw water supply from the two reservoirs with various proposed governmental policies （wastewater reuse, rainwater collection, and water saving）. We then determined how various water resource strategies would influence the urban water supply in Macao in emergency situations. Our results showed that, without imported raw water, the water supply from only the two Macao reservoirs would last for 7.95 days. However, when all the government policies were included in the model, the supply could be extended to 13.79 days. Out of the three non-conventional water resources, wastewater reuse is the most beneficial for increasing the Macao water supply, and rainwater collection also has great potential.

Space Resources Planning and Design of Rail Transit Station in Chongqing

According to the study on 39 sites of rail transit Line 3 in Chongqing, the sites are classifi ed into three types: residential type, business center type, traffi c hub type in this paper. The study shows that the sites have many problems such as discordance of land use, severity of spatial segregation, low rate of site utilization. To solve these problems, development approaches of site space resources within 1,000 m around the site area are further explored. The approaches include four aspects: characteristics of land use, functional composite, walking guide and shuttle transportation. In addition, appropriate planning and design methods are proposed.

Rainwater harvesting to alleviate water scarcity in dry conditions:A case study in Faria Catchment,Palestine

In arid and semi-arid regions, the availability of adequate water of appropriate quality has become a limiting factor for development. This paper aims to evaluate the potential for rainwater harvesting in the arid to semi-arid Faria Catchment, in the West Bank, Palestine. Under current conditions, the supply-demand gap is increasing due to the increasing water demands of a growing population with hydrologically limited and uncertain supplies. By 2015, the gap is estimated to reach 4.5 x 106 m3. This study used the process-oriented and physically-based TRAIN-ZIN model to evaluate two different rainwater harvesting techniques during two rainfall events. The analysis shows that there is a theoretical potential for harvesting an additional 4 x 106 m3 of surface water over the entire catchment. Thus, it is essential to manage the potential available surface water supplies in the catchment to save water for dry periods when the supply-demand gap is comparatively high. Then a valuable contribution to bridging the supply-demand gap can be made.

Introduction to rainwater management in Australia and suggestions for China's water problems

Australia is one of the world leaders in water management. The country meets the challenge of water shortage with established integrated water management in which rainwater is taken as a too precious resource to be just drained off. In Australia, rainwater is extensively harvested and polished to provide cheaper supply for potable and non-potable domestic uses, irrigation, landscaping, refilling aquifers and other uses. Implementing dual management over the quantity and quality of storm water and practicing water sensitive urban design (WSUD) in urban areas effectively control non-point-source pollution of waterways by pollutants carried with runoffs, reduce the discharge of rainwater and thus protect properties and lives from damage by floods. These achievements are attributed to constant reinforcement by govenments from federal to local levels in policy, financial, legal and educational aspects, and also to the lasting efforts of professional communities and water industry in developing requisite techniques, demonstrating the benefits and fostering public credence of rainwater reuse. The successful rainwater management practices in Australia suggest rainwater harvesting can be a complimentary means for the South-to-North Water Transfer Scheme to solve the water shortage in China's northern regions, and thus release to a degree the pressure on the Yangtze water resources. Best management practices of rainwater can be an effective controlling strategy for flooding and non-point-source water pollution of waterways. Such in-site source control initiatives have particular significance to protecting slow waterways of weak self-purification ability, like the Three Gorges Reservior.

Fresh Water Demand Minimization in Residential Urban Buildings

In the last decades, there is a lot of discussion in many scientific fields, about the high importance of water as a basic element for the existence and the maintenance of life, aiming to the right and proper usage of water in our everyday basic water-needs due to its limited resources and the growing demand. This research deals with simple ways and technological systems applicable in urban residential buildings for the better management of domestic fresh water, as far as its maintenance and sustainability. Main aim of the survey is the effective minimization of urban daily water usage. All measurements of water quantities have estimated in the imperial gallon （1 gallon = 4.546 liter）, and in liter （1 liter = 0.2 gallon）.

Payment for Water-Related Ecosystem Services as a Strategic Watershed Management Approach

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) have been created worldwide to assist watershed management and improve or maintain water quality. Considering their importance, we conducted a holistic review of payment for water-related ecosystem services to understand how this instrument has been applied in watershed management worldwide. First, we identified the watershed management actions considered by the PES programs and the challenges of implementing water-related PES. After we identified the methods and criteria used to define priority areas for water-related PES. Our review considered articles published on the Web of Science from 2011 to 2022. We found 236 articles relating PES to water resources, highlighting the main water conservation strategies: native vegetation conservation, native vegetation restoration, and implementing best agricultural practices. The method most frequent was interview, followed by the use of technologies, document analysis, and hydrological models. Another significant result was that priority areas for receiving PES are mainly riparian zones, areas near or with native vegetation cover, areas with higher erosion potential, steep areas, and areas with socially vulnerable communities. This review was crucial to identify efficient water resource conservation strategies and potential challenges in the implementation and development of PES programs.

Urban Water Resource Utilization Efficiency in China

The efficient use of water resources directly affects environmental, social, and economic development; therefore, it has a significant impact on urban populations. A slacks-based measure for data envelopment analysis （SBM-DEA） has been widely used in energy efficiency and environmental efficiency analyses in recent years. Based on this model, data from 316 cities were examined and a category method was employed involving three different sorting techniques to empirically evaluate the efficiency of urban water re- source utilization in China between 2000 and 2012. The overall efficiency （OE） of urban water resource utilization in China was initially low, but has improved over the past decade. The scale efficiency （SE） was higher than the pure technological efficiency （PTE）; PTE is a major determining factor of OE, and has had an increasingly significant effect. The efficiency of water resource utilization varied ac- cording to the region, urban scale, and economic function. The OE score for the eastern China was higher than for the rest of the region, and the OE score for the western China was higher than for the central China. The OE score for urban water resource utilization has improved with urban expansion, except in the case of small cities. The SE showed an inverted U-shaped＇ trend with increasing urban expansion. The OE of urban water utilization in comprehensive functional cities was greater than in economic specialization cities, and was greater in heavy industry specialization cities than in other specialization cities. This study contributes to the field of urban water resource management by examining variations in efficiency with urban ~ezle

Impacts of water resource planning on regional water consumption pattern: A case study in Dunhuang Oasis, China

Water resources are critical for the existence and development of oases in endorheic basins.Thus,to enable sustainable development,it is fundamentally important to understand how to allocate and use these resources in a reasonable way.We therefore simulated and analyzed changes in water consumption pattern within the Dunhuang Oasis of China under three scenarios using a system dynamic model that corresponds to different water consumption pattern.This was done to assess the impacts of regional water resource planning(comprehensive planning of the rational use of water resource and protection of ecosystem services in the Dunhuang Basin)on water consumption pattern within the Dunhuang Oasis.The first of these,Scenario 1,is a baseline in which the status quo is maintained,while Scenario 2 incorporates the comprehensive effects of agricultural water-saving irrigation measures with an inter-basin water diversion project,and Scenario 3 focuses on ecological rehabilitation.In the baseline Scenario 1,the total water consumption within the Dunhuang Oasis increased progressively while agricultural water consumption remained extremely high and threatened overall ecological security.In contrast,Scenario 2 would decrease agricultural water consumption by almost 5.30×10^7 m^3 following the implementation of water-saving practices.The additional water allocated from an inter-basin water diversion project would play an important role in alleviating ecological strain on the oasis.Finally,in Scenario 3,the total irrigated land must be decreased to 20.6×10^3 hm^2 by 2025 assuming that water supply for ecosystem restoration would be at least 50%of the total consumption.Although water resource planning plays a very important role in alleviating the ecological water crisis within the oasis,it is necessary to consider the suitable scale of oasis with regard to current water consumption pattern.

Urban Color Planning of Xuzhou City

Urban color planning will not only excavate historical context to strengthen urban difference and highlight urban individuality,thereby forming urban style and features that are easy to identify and perceive,but integrate natural landscape and control urban color,open space,green space system and architectural elements to crate a splendid visual space.Adhering to the concept of inheriting the historical context and culture,urban color planning of Xuzhou City fully taps the cultural potential of the historical and cultural resources,natural landscape resources and local customs and practices and carries out a practical exploration of urban color and urban style and features as well as the heritage and development of local culture through the urban color planning of"one centre,two axes,two belts,three sections",so as to provide a constructive reference for urban color planning of other cities in China.

Dying Traditional Water Bodies in India Struggling to Survive against Unplanned Development

India is endowed with diverse and distinctive traditional water bodies. They support large human population and biodiversity but are under continuous stress, caused primarily by demographic pressure and unplanned growth. There has been a decline in their water quality and quantity and several of them have vanished, thanks to improper monitoring of these water bodies. This research study was conducted in Meerut district to help government in identifying status of traditional water bodies and suggest steps necessary for protection of these water bodies. Similar research framework, with minor customization, could be applied to any other district in India. Meerut district, with a population of around 3.5 million people is in an abysmal state as the rivers and groundwater are highly polluted. The last resort—the traditional water bodies are also getting transformed into sewage ponds. A field based research was undertaken—which involved on-ground survey using GPS, GIS mapping & water quality testing of 120 ponds, distributed across 12 blocks of Meerut district to acquire a practical understanding of the status of these water bodies. The research team also did an informal discussion with around 500 residents, located nearby ponds, to understand the water situation of the locality. Results show that more than 50% of water bodies are severely polluted (with D.O below 5mg/l) and total dissolved solids (more than 100 NTU). Fecal contamination was observed in all the ponds that were analyzed. The major problems are excessive nutrient pollution, leading to eutrophication, and sewage contamination. The spatial analysis finds out that around half the ponds have reduced in area. With around 100 upcoming cities in India and most of the cities already experiencing water scarcity, it is essential to digitize, monitor, control & prevent pollution and most essentially make the people and grassroots institutions aware in order to protect these essential water bodies from getting extinct.

Recharge to Blue Lake and Strategies for Water Security Planning, Mount Gambier, South Australia

Blue Lake, a volcanic crater provides municipal water supply to the city of Mount Gambier, population of 26,000. Current average annual pumping from the lake is 3.6 × 106 m3. The lake is fed by karstic unconfined Gambier Limestone aquifer. Storm water of the city discharges to the aquifer via about 400 drainage wells and three large sinkholes. Average annual storm water discharge is estimated at approximately 6.6 × 106 m3 through drainage wells and sinkholes within 16.8 km2 of the central part of the city. Chemical mass balance for calcium was used to estimate groundwater inflow to the lake at 6.3 × 106 m3, almost equal to the volume of storm water discharge and slightly higher than the previous estimates using environmental isotopes (4.8 - 6.0 × 106 m3). Considering the lake outflow volume of 2.7 × 106 m3, the net inflow to the lake equates to the current annual pumping and therefore it is considered that the current pumping rate is at the upper limit. For meeting the short-term future demand, confined aquifer water may be used and in the longerterm, an additional well field is required outside the Blue Lake capture zone, preferably to the north-east of the city. For water supply security, inflow to the lake along with water quality has to be maintained within the city. Current annual private abstraction within the capture zone is about 4.4 × 106 m3 and in order to maintain aquifer water levels, no additional allocation should be allowed.

Application of Rainwater Garden in Dealing with Drought and Flood in Cities

On the basis of analyzing the concurrency of water resource shortage and flood disasters in Chinese cities, this paper proposed the application of natural water drainage mechanism, and introduction of rainwater garden into the urban landscape architecture design. The drainage ways of green streets including rainwater garden were elaborated, and it was proposed that roadside green belts can be used to save rainwater, realize the resource utilization of rainwater, to deal with the concurrency of drought and food in Chinese cities.

Urban Water Supply Industry Marketization of China in View of Public Water Service and Water Resource Management

Started with the discussions on the value orientation of urban water supply industry marketization,the article points out that the current urban water supply industry marketization reform is inconsistent with the goal of public water service equalization to some extent.The article also analyzes the problems emerged in urban water supply industry marketization reform and various rea-sons in view of efficiency and fairness.An efficiency and fairness oriented management model is built in this article to illustrate how the government should conciliate interests of various communities involved in the process of marketization reform of the urban water supply industry so as to actualize the coordination of efficiency and fairness.At the end,an assumption on urban water price is put forward to help achieve the public water service equalization.