Temporal trend in surface water resources in Tianjin in the Haihe River Basin, China

Abstract

Abstract:Considering the highly stochastic nature of the hydrological process, wavelet transform was used to analyse the characteristics, trends and causes of variations in annual run-off into Tianjin in the Haihe River Basin. Run-off was steadily declining due to climate change and human activity and a significant decrease in run-off along the time series was discovered around the 1960s; however, the change in precipitation was insignificant. The time series of run-off was heavily influenced by a nonlinear feature and mainly influenced by the natural climate before the 1960s, but after the 1970s the change remained steady, with an annual run-off that fluctuated between 0Ð2 and 48Ð4 mm and was maintained at a low level (9Ð3 mm). The main cause of the run-off decline in the 1960s was that more than 1900 reservoirs with a total holding capacity of up to 83 mm were constructed in the upper and middle reaches, which controlled 85% of the total run-off. These projects have played an active role in the reservoir action and water conservation since they were implemented. At the beginning of the 1980s, the demand for water resources increased with the rapid growth of the population and the large-scale development of industry and agriculture in the Haihe River Basin, which caused a reduction in run-off into Tianjin. Overall, the hydrological effects of water storage projects regulating river run-off were beneficial to flood control, but might cause a serious reduction in river run-off into Tianjin and the lower reaches of the basin. In addition, a decrease in annual precipitation and changes in temperature in Northern China have also had an adverse effect on natural run-off, which caused a greater decline in water resources, but this did not have a powerful influence on the overall decline in the run-off.

Evaluating actual evapotranspiration and impacts of groundwater storage change in the North China Plain

“…Extensive land exploitation and surface water development has caused rapid runoff decreasing since the 1960s (Shao et al ., ; Wu et al ., ). By the 1980s, runoff in the basin has been reduced to insignificant level with no surface flow in most river channels for most time of the year (Wu et al ., ).…”

“…In the NCP, irrigation from groundwater abstraction is mainly lost through ET, and the groundwater recharge from precipitation and irrigation return flow is considered as internalized water redistribution, which is implicitly accounted for in Equation (1). Extensive land exploitation and surface water development has caused rapid runoff decreasing since the 1960s (Shao et al, 2010;Wu et al, 2011). By the 1980s, runoff in the basin has been reduced to insignificant level with no surface flow in most river channels for most time of the year (Wu et al, 2011).…”

Quantifying impacts of climate variability and human activities on the hydrological system of the Haihe River Basin, China

“…After the 1960s the water resources in the basin changed dramatically. All the tributaries gradually became seasonal rivers and runoff and discharge steadily declined (Ren et al 2002;Xu 2004;Wu et al 2011c). The area of wetland area sharply decreased (Guo et al 2005;Liu et al 2006) and the shallow groundwater level steadily declined Yang et al 2012).…”

An analysis of the factors that influence industrial water use in Tianjin, China

“…Thanks to this industrial production, Tianjin plays a key role in the economic development of the entire northern region (Kuang, 2012). Through accelerated urbanization and rapid growth in the urban population, Tianjin's water demand structure has gradually changed in recent years, as seen in the proportional decrease in rural water demand and increase in urban water demand (Wu, Chen, Su, Jia, & Li, 2011). In particular, the proportion of water demand for industrial purposes grew rapidly from 17.1% to 22.0% during 2008-2012.…”