Effects of the South-North Water Diversion Project on the Water Dispatching Pattern and Ecological Environment in the Water Receiving Area: A Case Study of the Fuyang River Basin in Handan, China

Inter-basin water transfer projects are widely used in water-stressed areas. North China is facing severe imbalance between water demand and water supply. The South-to-North Water Diversion (SNWD) Project was built to transfer water from the Yangtze River Basin to the Hai River Basin. The Fuyang River Basin in the southern part of the Hai River Basin, passing through the Handan city, was chosen as the study area. To identify the effects of the SNWD Project on the water-receiving area, this paper used the decision support system AQUATOOL to simulate the water-dispatching scheme while using the water from the SNWD Project for domestic need in different level years. The results indicate that the SNWD Project provided 128.32 x 10(6) m(3) of water in a wet year, 109.88 x 10(6) m(3) in a normal year and 135.14 x 10(6) m(3) in a dry year to this area. The added quantity of recycled water is 56.75 x 10(6) m(3), 50.59 x 10(6) m(3) and 57.52 x 10(6) m(3), respectively. The water shortage in normal years was covered by the SNWD Project and the water shortage in dry years was reduced by 62.4%. Local environment was improved because of the SNWD Project, i.e., the SNWD water replaced and reduced the use of groundwater and increased the inflow to the Fuyang River and the Yongnian Wetland by increasing the recycled water. This research has demonstrated the SNWD Project has started to play a key role in securing water use and improving the environment in the water-receiving area since its completion in 2014.