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Water Policy Vol 9 No S1 pp 75–93 © IWA Publishing 2007 doi:10.2166/wp.2007.046
Can urbanization solve inter-sector water conflicts? Insight from a case study in Hebei Province, North China Plain
Eloise Kendya, Jinxia Wangb, David J. Moldenc, Chunmiao Zhengd,e, Changming Liuf and Tammo S. Steenhuisg
aCorresponding author. The Nature Conservancy, Sustainable Waters Program, 656 N. Ewing, Helena, MT 59601, USA. Fax: +1 (413) 502 0784ekendy@tnc.org.
bCenter for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. Jia 11, Datun RoadAnwai, Beijing 100101, China
cInternational Water Management Institute, P.O. Box 2075Colombo, Sri Lanka
dDepartment of Geological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
eCenter for Water Research, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing China
fInstitute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Building 917, Datun RoadAnwai, Beijing 100101, China
gDepartment of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, 206 Riley Robb Hall, Ithaca., NY 14853, USA
ABSTRACT
China, like many countries, is experiencing an unprecedented rate of urbanization. Urbanization is usually thought to intensify inter-sectoral water conflicts. In contrast, this paper considers urbanization as part of a viable solution to the problem. By evaluating water consumption, or depletion, in terms of actual evaporation and transpiration, as opposed to the amount withdrawn from water sources, this paper argues that urbanization has a positive role to play in lessening inter-sectoral water competition and in reversing groundwater declines. At the regional scale, urbanization can help achieve these goals by replacing some agricultural land use, particularly under two conditions: (1) both the industrial and agricultural sectors adopt water-saving technologies, and (2) urban wastewater and runoff are treated and reused directly in agriculture or indirectly through artificial recharge. Combined, the two conditions must result in a net decrease in water consumption at the regional scale. These points are illustrated with a case study of rural Luancheng County and adjacent industrialized Shijiazhuang City in Hebei Province. A water-balance approach provides a simple, quantitative framework for evaluating the potential for various land-use mosaics to stabilize groundwater levels.
Keywords: Groundwater; Irrigation; Luancheng County; North China Plain (NCP); Shijiazhuang; Urbanization; Water balance; Water conservation; Water consumption; Water use efficiency
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