Prof. Yuanyuan Li, Dr. Lili Yu, Ms. Yan Yang, Ms. Fengyue Sun
General Institute of Hydropower and Water Resources Planning and Design,
Ministry of Water Resources (GIWP), China
(a) Purpose or objectives and status of study or research hypothesis
This presentation will try to answer why groundwater functions are relatively reasonable criteria for groundwater zoning and explore the countermeasures for the management and control of groundwater based on the zoning. This research is based on the work of national groundwater function zoning in China.
(b) Key issue(s) or problem(s) addressed
The supportive issues addressed are: 1) groundwater functional classification index system developing and the identification of the dominant function of groundwater; 2) overall groundwater management framework formulating with control indicators.
(c) Methodology or approach used
The strategy of groundwater management the characteristics and functions of groundwater. All analysis data come from open sources and authorities. The identification of dominant function was completed by using hierarchy analysis. The implementation of them makes it possible to test how the groundwater function system has properly reflected the real state and demand of groundwater and whether it have fulfilled the supporting role in groundwater management and protection.
(d) Results and conclusions derived from the project
Groundwater is widely distributed in China and its management is supported by a zonation process which is designed to guide groundwater utilization and ecological and environmental protection. An overall framework of management and control of groundwater exploitation and utilization was developed, which takes groundwater as a rigid constraint to economic and social development. Accordingly, as the management and governance objectives, a set of control indicators of groundwater management in functional zones has been formulated including control indicators of groundwater exploitation and groundwater table. Targeted on the gap
between the current status of groundwater system and the protection objectives, optimal and feasible solutions could be proposed and implemented.
(e) Implications of the project relevant to selected conference theme, theory and/or practice
The territory of the whole country has been endowed with control indicators of groundwater exploitation according to the unique feature of groundwater for each unit. This actually poses a rigid constraint to economic and social development, which severs as a protection line to the ecological health and human health. For each control indicator, ecological and human health is always a big concern. Ecological demands, such as river flow, plants growth, geological stability, were taken into consideration. In terms of human health, with assistance of developing control indicators, groundwater shall be protected and therefore guarantee the future use of human
kind.