Planning for water management in the Daqinghe River Basin, northern China

In a river basin where existing land and water resources are virtually fully exploited, planning for water management in the future becomes a challenging task. A scenario-consequence analysis, based on economic growth forecasts, was applied to assess alternatives for water management. Comparison of the impacts resulting from three growth scenarios provided the local government with a vision of the consequences of selection of each of the scenarios. It was concluded that a water deficit would result from each scenario. To balance the expectations of the population for better employment and living standards and environmental degradation and to remedy the water deficit situation, a water management plan comprising changes in water policies and institutional arrangements, introduction to water conservation and demand management, pollution control, and importation of water from other river basins was proposed. The sustainability of the water management plan was also discussed.