Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

Procedia Environmental Sciences 10 (2011) 1509 – 1512

2011 3rd International Conference on Environmental p

Science and Information Application Technology (ESIAT 2011)

Comprehensive Utilization of the Water Resources in small

Watershed
Chuntang Wang1, Gang Wang1, Zhe Feng2, Xiaopei Ji1, Quanqi Li1,
Zhiying Zhang3, Deming Song3
1
College of Water Conservancy & Civil Engineering, Shandong Agriculture University, Tai’an 271000, China
2
Pingdu, Qingdao Hydro Sruvey Design Institute, Pingdu, 266700, China
3
The Hydraulic Engineering Corporation of Linyi, Shandong, Linyi, 276006, China
1
[email protected]

Abstract

The water problem is a vital question which relates to the sustainable development of the national economy. And the
water resource is also a kind of comprehensive natural resources which has a variety of use values and can supply
with the water needs for many sections, which involves economy, resource, science and technology, ecosystem and
environment. Sustainable utilization is a better form for the water resources. This paper gives a brief introduction
about the technology of comprehensive utilization of the water resources in small watershed.
© 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Conference ESIAT2011 Organization Committee.
Keywords˖small watershed; water resources; comprehensive utilization

Introduction

Comprehensive utilization of the water resources in small watershed should emphasis on the
comprehensive development and utilization of the various types of water resources, and establish a
perfect and reasonable water resources developing system, and come into being a favorable economic,
social and ecological benefit and may improve the economic, social and ecological environment, so that
the limited water resources can maximize its function. Therefore, the water resources comprehensive
utilization in small watershed, to some extent, has a strategic importance.

Current situations of the Water Resources in China

With the rapid development of the national economy, there is an increasing demand for the water
conservancy in China. Meanwhile, the water technique is getting more and more important. But now
there are lots of problems in utilization of water resources in China.

1878-0296 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Conference ESIAT2011 Organization Committee.
doi:10.1016/j.proenv.2011.09.240
1510 Chuntang Wang et al. / Procedia Environmental Sciences 10 (2011) 1509 – 1512

Serious water shortage and frequent flood disasters.

The water resource is very serious shortage in China, the total amount per mu is only 1/2 of the world
average, and the amount of per capita procession is only 1/4 of world average[1]. Especially in north and
northwest China, the water resource amount per capita is less than 8% of the world average[2]. The
spatial and temporal distribution of the precipitation is very uneven which mainly concentrate in the flood
season, and this characteristic intensifies the shortage of the water resources in China. At the same time,
the flood disaster happens frequently which nearly happens very year. Meanwhile, the criterions of flood
control of the water conservancy project are generally low, and the loss caused by the flood disaster is
serious.

Utilization rate is low.

The utilization efficiency of water resources is very relatively lower in China. Since 30 years of reform
and opening, the utilization coefficient of irrigated water resources had increased from 0.35 to 0.46 in
China[3], however, it is 0.7~0.8 in the advanced countries. The food production capacity of per stere
water is 0.8~1.0kg/m3 in China, which is more than 2.0kg/m3 in America and Israel. China is an
agricultural country, the agricultural water consumption account for more than 70% of the total used
water volume. Therefore, agricultural development must take the road of water-saving agriculture.
It is unreasonable for the development and utilization of the surface and ground water resources. For
example, China has built lots of irrigated areas in the past 50 years, which played a vital role for the
developing and the utilization of the water resources and improving the construction of the national
economic construction. Since the 1970s, a lot of well-irrigated areas have been set up, and there are about
418 million pumping ground water wells for the irrigating areas is nearly 0.14km2 by the end of 2004,
which relived the lack of the surface water resources. Being the largely continuous exploitation of the
groundwater, the level draws down sharply and forms the depression cone whose area reaches to more
than 15 million km2

Pollution is serious.

“The river basins are generally contaminated and will get worse and worse in China.” said the professor
Hongliang Liu who is the academician of Chinese academy of engineering and the chief scientist of
Chinese lake environmental research. The survey results for the 55000km long national river showed that
23.3% of the rivers are polluted so serious that it can not be used for irrigation and 45% of the rivers have
no living fishes and the water quality of 85% of the rivers cannot satisfy the ċ standard. The ecological
function degenerated severely, the ecological environment has been destroyed dramatically and water
resources cannot be used again.

The comprehensive utilization measures of the water resources in small watershed

There are all kinds of water bodies in the small watershed, such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs, unconfined
groundwater, confined groundwater, rainwater etc. so the water resources comprehensive utilization
should be emphasis on the whole. The purpose of the research is to joint dispatches all kinds of the water
resources, make all the water resources developed fully base on the different quality and quantity of the
water resources. So that establishes a favorable, reasonable water resources comprehensive development
utilization system, and improves the economic, social and ecological environment in the area, maximum
the effect of the water resource and achieves the sustainable utilization of water resource.

Flood storage to supply drought, allocate the water resources reasonably.

 Chuntang Wang et al. / Procedia Environmental Sciences 10 (2011) 1509 – 1512 1511

Flood storage is a reasonable way to protect from flooding. Under the condition of safety, more floods
should be stored in order to satisfy the water demand in the coming drought years. Firstly, all the
reservoirs should be well managed and dispatched and more and more small reservoirs should be built to
utilize fully the local runoff. And the groundwater reservoirs should be built if the geology condition
permission, so that the reservoirs on the surface and underground could compose a competing system in
water protection.

Develop the ecological forestry and improve the rate of vegetation coverage to retain the water.

The ecological forestry means to attain the ecology functioning requirements by combining diverse kinds
of plants in three-dimensional. The ability to prevent water loss and soil erosion for the forestland is not
only related to the coverage rate but also the height of the leaf canopy. When the height is lower than a
certain value, it could effectively prevent the soil from washing away by the rain. So developing the
ecological forestry not only requires the optimum combination of species, ages and spatial match but also
realize the optimum for the whole ecology function. So that boosts the ability of environmental accidents
to retain the water.

Control water loss and soil erosion and protection water environment.

The happiness for water loss and solid erosion not only degenerate the solid, wreck the forest coverage
but also cause reservoirs waters and lakes sedimentation and worsening the nature environment. One of
the most efficient ways to manage the water loss and soil erosion is harness the mountain, hillside and
channel together and combine biology method with project method to curb erosion and protect water
environment. The project method offers an easy way to deal with the erosion problems, but if only using
the project method, the project that works now would ruin as time goes by. The biology method is slow in
getting the intend results but it is better when times goes by. So, only combined biology method with
project method is the best way to curb erosion and protect

Planning the regional ecological environment, adjusting the agricultural land use.

When developing and utilizing all sorts of natural and biological resources, it is necessary to plan
generally according to the different ecological environment conditions and solve the local people’s live
and production problem while protecting the ecological environment. The economic development and
environmental protection are not separable. If economic cannot develop well, the ecological environment
will also not be protected well, which will influence the sustainable development economic. Making full
use of the water resources, developing forestry and increasing the farmer’s living standards without
destroying the existing ecological environment.

Establish the organic mechanism for urban and industrial water use.

The demand for water resources is growing very fast in urban and industry with the development of
economy, the growth of population and the improvement of people's living standards, which conflicts
with the agricultural irrigation.
In order to ensure the urban and industrial water use, it is necessary to save water, and push the
development of water resources by high-tech and use high input to support the development of high-tech.
The urban water use should be well planned, managing the water saving reform for the existing
enterprises, and guiding the existing enterprise and new enterprises to go on the road of development of
water-saving. Industry water use should adopt water circulation to improve the reuse rate, and use less
water to produce more material products. Moreover, rationally adjusting the relationship between
1512 Chuntang Wang et al. / Procedia Environmental Sciences 10 (2011) 1509 – 1512

agricultural irrigation and urban industrial water use to prevent water pollution and ensure the stable
source of water.

Stereoscopic development and comprehensive administration.

Researching the reasonable layout of water resources in different conditions, it should accomplish the
comprehensive administration for the hillock, ditch, low-lying area, sloe etc, and build the small reservoir,
dig ditch to intercept the runoff to preserve the water and facilitate the irrigation. Increase the innovation
of science and technology from soil and water conservation, artificially engineering, development and
utilization of the natural water, the inter-basin diversion project, reducing water consumption, the sewage
disposal, the promotion of water-saving technology, etc. In addition, we should try to create public
opinion atmosphere and policy environment that conducive to the development and protection of water
resources. Enhance support of policy measures. Take measures to gradually solve the questions about
exploitation, protection and utilization of water resources fundamentally.

Conclusion

Comprehensive utilization of the water resources in small watershed should make the whole area as the
study object and make the surface water, groundwater, water out of basin, rainwater, wastewater of
production life, mine water etc. as a whole system. First, keeping and allocating water sources including
engineering measures, biological measures and agricultural practices, etc. Second, developing and
utilizing water resources scientifically, exploiting water resources and utilizing of the industries
comprehensively, managing uniformly and coordinating organically; third, saving water including
agriculture, industry and life. Using the limited water resources in industry, agriculture, urban and rural
water supply, forestry, animal husbandry, ecological environment, water and soil conservation, etc, and
making water produce the best results and realizing the sustainable development and utilization of water
resources.

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Shandong Distinguished Middle aged and Young Scientist Award
Foundation (BS2009NY008), and by the foundation item of Key lab for crop water requirement and
regulation of ministry of agriculture (CWR2010003).

References

[1] Airong Hu, Jingliang Wang, Bangming Li, Hongyang Liu, Fu Yu, Yanping Huang, Yougang Yao, and Mianqing Liu, “a
preliminary report on experiments of water saving techniques on rice,” Bulletin ofAgricultural Science and Technology, 2007 ,12:
54-55.
[2] Chuanyou Chen, Zhili, Chen, and Zhijun,Yao, “Current situation of water resources in China and countermeasures,”
Advances in Science and Technology of Water Resources, 2006, 2: 23-25.
[3] Shucheng Wang, “China’s water resources security issue and its countermeasures,” Power System and Clean Energy. 2009,
26(9): 3-3.