Abstract
The South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP) is a significant and costly cross-basin mega water project in China, and one aim is to improve water use efficiency. To assess the effect of the SNWDP, this study conducts a quantitative evaluation of the middle route of the SNWDP’s impact on water use efficiency through the event analysis method based on panel data from 2010 to 2019 of 14 cities along the middle route. The results show the construction of the SNWDP has had a positive impact on water use efficiency in the areas along the project, and the water use efficiency is constantly improving. Further empirical analysis shows that regional groundwater supply, industrial water consumption, and technical level have a significant positive impact on regional water use efficiency. Regional per-capita GDP has a significant negative impact on water use efficiency. The results can provide a scientific basis and decision-making reference for optimizing the SNWDP.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
The data will be available on the reasonable request.
References
Binder JJ (1998) The event study methodology since 1969. Rev Quant Financ Acc 11(2):111–137. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008295500105
Chen Z, Wang H, Qi X (2013) Pricing and water resource allocation scheme for the South-to-North water diversion project in China. Water Resour Manag 27(5):1457–1472. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-012-0248-1
Dirwai TL, Senzanje A, Mudhara M (2019) Water governance impacts on water adequacy in smallholder irrigation schemes in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Water Policy 21(1):127–146. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2018.149
Dou X (2016) A critical review of groundwater utilization and management in China’s inland water shortage areas. Water Policy 18(6):1367–1383. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2016.043
Gu W, Shao D, Jiang Y (2012) Risk evaluation of water shortage in source area of middle route project for South-to-North Water Transfer in China. Water Resour Manag 26(12):3479–3493. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-012-0086-1
Guo L, Shan N, Zhang Y, Sun F, Liu W, Shi Z, Zhang Q (2019) Separating the effects of climate change and human activity on water use efficiency over the Beijing-Tianjin Sand Source Region of China. Sci Total Environ 690:584–595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.067
He B, Wang H, Huang L, Liu J, Chen Z (2017) A new indicator of ecosystem water use efficiency based on surface soil moisture retrieved from remote sensing. Ecol Ind 75:10–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.12.017
Hoesli M, Milcheva S, Moss A (2020) Is financial regulation good or bad for real estate companies? – an event study. J Real Estate Financ Econ 61(3):369–407. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11146-017-9634-z
Hu JL, Wang SC, Yeh FY (2006) Total-factor water efficiency of regions in China. Resour Policy 31(4):217–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2007.02.001
Hu W, Wenquan Gu, Miao D, Shao D (2022) Research on the ecological flow and water replenishment thresholds for diversion rivers based on the MC-LOR algorithm. Water Resour Manag. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-022-03279-x
Jia S, Zhu W (2020) China’s achievements of water governance over the past seven decades. Int J Water Resour Dev 36(2–3):292–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2019.1709422
Li B, Sivapalan M, Xu X (2019) An urban sociohydrologic model for exploration of Beijing’s water sustainability challenges and solution spaces. Water Resour Res 55(7). https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR023816
Li H (2017) Evolutionary game analysis of emergency management of the middle route of South-to-North water diversion project. Water Resour Manag 31(9):2777–2789. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-017-1661-2
Li L, Zhang L, Xia J, Gippel CJ, Wang R, Zeng S (2015) Implications of modelled climate and land cover changes on runoff in the middle route of the south to north water transfer project in China. Water Resour Manage 29(8):2563–2579. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-015-0957-3
Liu M, Ding W, Yali Lu (2022) Collaborative management of a sustainable supply chain in a water diversion project. Water Resour Manag 36(8):2665–2683. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-022-03168-3
Long D, Yang W, Scanlon BR, Zhao J, Liu D, Burek P, Pan Y, You L, Wada Y (2020) South-to-North water diversion stabilizing beijing’s groundwater levels. Nat Commun 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17428-6
Lubys J, Panda P (2021) US and EU unconventional monetary policy spillover on BRICS financial markets: An event study. Empirica 48(2):353–371. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10663-020-09480-8
Maul D, Schiereck D (2017) The bond event study methodology since 1974. Rev Quant Financ Acc 48(3):749–787. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11156-016-0562-4
Rao SVDN, Sreejith U (2014) Event study methodology: A critical review. Macrotheme Rev 3(1):40–53. http://macrotheme.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/3MR31ASr.1334942.pdf
Qin H, Zheng C, He X, Refsgaard JC (2019) Analysis of water management scenarios using coupled hydrological and system dynamics modeling. Water Resour Manag 33(14):4849–4863. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-019-02410-9
Sun H, Bai Y, Mengge Lu, Wang J, Tuo Ye, Yan D, Zhang W (2021) Drivers of the water use efficiency changes in China during 1982–2015. Sci Total Environ 799:149145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149145
Tang YY, Chen JP, Zhang F, Yuan SS (2021) Spatiotemporal analysis of evapotranspiration and effects of water and heat on water use efficiency. Water (Switzerland) 13(21):1–17. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13213019
Vieira P, Jorge C, Covas D (2018) Efficiency assessment of household water use. Urban Water J 15(5):407–417. https://doi.org/10.1080/1573062X.2018.1508596
Wang J, Huang J, Zhang L, Huang Q, Rozelle S (2010) Water governance and water use efficiency: The five principles of WUA management and performance in China. J Am Water Resour Assoc 46(4):665–685. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00439.x
Wang X, Wang G, Wu Y, Xu Y, Gao H (2017) Comprehensive Assessment of Regional Water Usage Efficiency Control Based on Game Theory Weight and a Matter-Element Model. Water 9(2):113. https://doi.org/10.3390/w9020113
Wiek A, Larson KL (2012) Water, people, and sustainability-a systems framework for analyzing and assessing water governance regimes. Water Resour Manag 26(11):3153–3171. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-012-0065-6
Wu Y, Li L, Liu Z, Chen X, Huang H (2021) Real-time control of the middle route of South-to-North water diversion project. Water (Switzerland) 13(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/w13010097
Xia J, Wang Q, Zhang X, Wang R, She D (2018) Assessing the influence of climate change and inter-basin water diversion on Haihe River basin, eastern China: a coupled model approach. Hydrogeol J 26(5):1455–1473
Yan F, Zhang L (2016) Spatial econometric analysis of the relationship between regional economy level and water-use efficiency. Yellow River 38(3):41–44
Yang S, Zhang J, Han J, Wang J, Zhang S, Bai Y, Cao D et al (2021) Evaluating global ecosystem water use efficiency response to drought based on multi-model analysis. Sci Total Environ 778(9):146356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146356
Zhang W, Du X, Huang A, Yin H (2019) Analysis and Comprehensive Evaluation of Water Use Efficiency in China. Water 11(12):2620. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11122620
Zhang X, Wang G, Tan Z, Wang Y, Li Q (2021) Effects of ecological protection and restoration on phytoplankton diversity in impounded lakes along the eastern route of China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project. Sci Total Environ 795(Nov). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148870
Zhu XJ, Yu GR, Wang QF, Hu ZM, Zheng H, Li SG, Sun XM et al (2015) Spatial variability of water use efficiency in China’s terrestrial ecosystems. Glob Planet Change 129:37–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.03.003
Funding
The research is sponsored by the grants of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 72004175), and the Major Program of Philosophy and Social Science of Chinese Ministry of Education (No.21JZD034).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Cheng, Z., Zhao, Y., Song, T. et al. White Elephant or Golden Goose? An Assessment of Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project from the Perspective of Regional Water Use Efficiency. Water Resour Manage 37, 819–834 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-022-03405-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-022-03405-9