Abstract
Water is vital for economic development and environmental sustainability in arid and semi-arid basins. Management of water resource requires good understanding of available water for human consumption. Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important component of the hydrological cycle and represents the amount of water lost to the atmosphere in a basin. This study proposes a new approach to estimate available consumable water for human activities (ACW) in a basin based on precipitation, natural ET, and uncontrollable outflow, thus capping water use for human consumption in a basin. The ACW is illustrated for the Hai Basin in North China, where the average ACW from 2001 to 2012 for the entire basin is estimated at 31.97 × 109m3 yr.−1, varying between 18.61 × 109m3yr−1 in 2002 and 42.60 × 109m3yr−1 in 2003. A water balance analysis for the basin indicates that the aquifer water depletion in Hai Basin for 2001–2012 is 5.23 × 109m3yr−1. Compared to existing water resources assessment, ACW provides an easier approach to water management planning as no hydrological data are required, only data on precipitation and ET, supported by landcover data.
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Notes
The distinction between the Hai Basin and the Hai River Basin is not always clear in the literature. The Hai River Basin Authority has authority over the study area shown shaded in Fig. 1 and two smaller river basins to the north and south. These are not included in this study
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the support from National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2016YFA0600304) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (41561144013). This article has also greatly benefited from the comments and suggestions by Dr. Lu Zhang and Dr. Perry Chris. Mrs. Anna van Heijden provided thoughtful suggestions too. The MOD 13A2 product was accessed from the online Data Pool, courtesy of the NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC), USGS/Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/data_access/data_pool.
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Highlights
• A new approach to estimate available consumable water for human activities (ACW) in a basin and is composed of precipitation, natural ET, and uncontrollable outflow.
• The average ACW and the aquifer water depletion in Hai Basin for 2001 to 2012 is estimated at 31.97 × 109m3yr−1 and 5.23 × 109m3yr−1.
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Wu, B., Zeng, H., Yan, N. et al. Approach for Estimating Available Consumable Water for Human Activities in a River Basin. Water Resour Manage 32, 2353–2368 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-018-1933-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-018-1933-5