Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Eco-environmental impact of inter-basin water transfer projects: a review

  • Review Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The objective reality of uneven water resource distribution and imbalanced water demand of the human society makes it inevitable to transfer water. It has been an age-old method to adopt the inter-basin water transfers (IBTs) for alleviating and even resolving the urgent demand of the water-deficient areas. A number of countries have made attempts and have achieved enormous benefits. However, IBTs inevitably involve the redistribution of water resources in relevant basins and may cause changes of the ecological environment in different basins. Such changes are two-sided, namely, the positive impacts, including adding new basins for water-deficient areas, facilitating water cycle, improving meteorological conditions in the recipient basins, mitigating ecological water shortage, repairing the damaged ecological system, and preserving the endangered wild fauna and flora, as well as the negative impacts, including salinization and aridification of the donor basins, damage to the ecological environment of the donor basins and the both sides of the conveying channel system, increase of water consumption in the recipient basins, and spread of diseases, etc. Because IBTs have enormous ecological risk, it is necessary to comprehensively analyze the inter-basin water balance relationship, coordinate the possible conflicts and environmental quality problems between regions, and strengthen the argumentation of the ecological risk of water transfer and eco-compensation measures. In addition, there are some effective alternative measures for IBTs, such as attaching importance to water cycle, improving water use efficiency, developing sea water desalination, and rainwater harvesting technology, etc.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aladin NV, Potts WTW (1992) Changes in the Aral Sea ecosystem during the period 1960–1992. Hydrobiologia 237:67–79

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Allisona MA, Meselhe EA (2010) The use of large water and sediment diversions in the lower Mississippi River (Louisiana) for coastal restoration. J Hydrol 387(3–4):346–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • An, K.J., Lam, Y.F., Hao, S., Morakinyo, T.E., Furumai, H., 2015. Multi-purpose rainwater harvesting for water resource recovery and the cooling effect. Water Res. In Press, doi:10.1016/j.watres.2015.07.040.

  • Chen YH (2004) Analysis on advantages and disadvantages of large scale, long distance and transbasin diversion. Water Resour Prot 59(2):48–50, In Chinese

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen YN, Pang ZH, Chen YP, Li WH, Xu CC, Hao XM, Huang X, Huang TM, Ye ZX (2008) Response of riparian vegetation to water-table changes in the lower reaches of Tarim River, Xinjiang Uygur, China. Hydrogeol J 16(7):1371–1379

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen ZS, Wang HM (2012) Optimization and coordination of South-to-North Water Diversion supply chain with strategic customer behavior. Water Sci Eng 5(4):464–477

    Google Scholar 

  • Dadaser-Celik F, Coggins JS, Brezonik PL, Stefan HG (2009) The projected costs and benefits of water diversion from and to the Sultan Marshes (Turkey). Ecol Econ 68(5):1496–1506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies BR, Thoms M, Meador M (1992) An assessment of the ecological impacts of inter-basin water transfers, and their threats to river basin integrity and conservation. Aquat Conserv 2(4):325–349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delfino JJ (1979) Toxic substances in the Great Lakes. Environ Sci Technol 13:1462–1468

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • DVGW (German Association for Gas and Water) (1975a) Guidelines for drinking water protection areas, Part II: protected areas for drinking water reservoirs (= DVGW- worksheet w 102). Version 2. DVGW, Eschborn, In German

    Google Scholar 

  • DVGW (German Association for Gas and Water) (1975b) Guidelines for drinking water protection areas, Part III: protected areas for lakes (= DVGW- worksheet w 103). DVGW, Eschborn, In German

    Google Scholar 

  • Fang Y (2005) Inter-basin water diversion projects abroad and the corresponding eco-environment influences. Yangtze River 36(10):9–10, 28. (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghassemi F, White I (2007) Inter-basin water transfer: case studies from Australia, United States, Canada. Cambridge University Press, China and India

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gijsbers PJA, Loucks DP (1999) Libya’s choices: desalination or the Great Man-made River Project. Phys Chem Earth Pt B 24:385–389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gill GS, Gray EL, Seckier D (1971) The California water plan and its critics, a brief view//Seckier, D., California water: a study in resource management, Gill G.S, Gray E.L, Seckier D. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Glantz MH (2004) Sustainable development and creeping environmental problems in the Aral Sea region. In: Glantz MH (ed) Creeping environmental problems and sustainable development in the Aral Sea region. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, pp 1–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Gao L, Wang JT (2008) Impacts of the South-to-north Water Transfer Project on ecological environment. Water Conserv Sci Techn Econ 14(2):131–133 (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Gupta J, van der Zaag P (2008) Interbasin water transfers and integrated water resources management: where engineering, science and politics interlock. Phys Chem Earth 33(1):28–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Imteaz MA, Paudel U, Ahsan A, Santos C (2015) Climatic and spatial variability of potential rainwater savings for a large coastal city. Resour Conserv Recy 105(Part A):143–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kristopher DW (2013) Nature–society linkages in the Aral Sea region. J Eurasian Stud 4(1):18–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krivonogov SK, Burr GS, Kuzmin YV, Gusskov SA, Kurmanbaev RK, Kenshinbay TI, Voyakin DA (2014) The fluctuating Aral Sea: a multidisciplinary-based history of the last two thousand years. Gondwana Res 26:284–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lane RR, Day JW Jr, Kemp GP, Demcheck DK (2001) The 1994 experimental opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway to divert Mississippi River water into Lake Pontchartrain. Louisiana Ecol Eng 17(4):411–422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsona KJ, Başaǧaoǧlu H, Mariño MA (2001) Prediction of optimal safe ground water yield and land subsidence in the Los Banos-Kettleman City area, California, using a calibrated numerical simulation model. J Hydrol 242(1–2):79–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu JG, Zang CF, Tian SY, Liu JG, Yang H, Jia SF, You LZ, Liu B, Zhang M (2013) Water conservancy projects in China: achievements, challenges and way forward. Global Environ Chang 23:633–643

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu (2000) Selection of Overseas Water Resources and Hydropower Investigation and study reports by Ministry of Water Resources. Haichao Press, Beijing, In Chinese

    Google Scholar 

  • Li XR, Zhang MZW, WenM LL (2015) Study on water resources carrying capacity in Xiangyang City based on Middle route of China’s south-to-north water diversion project. Environ Monit Assess 6:121–128 (In Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Li YH, Chen XG, Shen YS (2003) West-to-East water diversion project in Pakistan. Water Resour Dev Res 1:56–58 (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Xiong W, Zhang WL, Wang C, Wang PF (2016) Life cycle assessment of water supply alternatives in water-receiving areas of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in China. Water Res 89:9–19

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Locatelli G, Mancini M, Romano E (2014) Systems engineering to improve the governance in complex project environments. Int J Proj Manag 32(8):1395–1410

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma FB, Wang X (2011) Impacts of water transfer project on eco-environment: a review. Water Conservancy Sci Technol Economy 17(10):20–24 (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy TJ, Rzeszutko CP (1977) Precipitation inputs of PCBs to Lake Michigan. J Great Lakes Res 3:305–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Hara SL, Wiggs GFS, Mamedov B, Davidson G, Hubbard RB (2000a) Exposure to airborne dust contaminated with pesticide in the Aral Sea region. Glob Planet Change 355:627–628

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Hara SL, Wiggs GFS, Mamedov B, Davidson G, Hubbard RB (2000b) Exposure to airborne dust contaminated with pesticide in the Aral Sea region. Lancet 355:627–628

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poland JF (1981) The occurrence and control of land subsidence due to ground-water withdrawal with special reference to the San Joaquin and Santa Clara Valleys, California, Ph.D Thesis. Stanford University, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Pozdnyakov DV, Korosov AA, Petrova NA, Grassle H (2013) Multi-year satellite observations of Lake Ladoga’s biogeochemical dynamics in relation to the lake’s trophic status. J Great Lakes Res 39:34–45

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Qiu BX (2014) The urban water security situation and the countermeasures at present in China. Water Supply Drain 40(1):1–7 (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rafikov V, Gulnora M (2014) Forecasting changes of hydrological and hydrochemical conditions in the Aral Sea. Geod Geodyn 5(3):55–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasmussen PW, Schrank C, Williams MCW (2014) Trends of PCB concentrations in Lake Michigan coho and chinook salmon, 1975–2010. J Great Lakes Res 40(3):748–754

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rivera Monroy VH, Branoff B, Meselhe EA, McCorquodale A, Dortch M, Steyer GD, Visser J, Wang H (2013) Landscape-level estimation of nitrogen loss in coastal Louisiana wetlands: potential sinks under different restoration scenarios. J Coast Res SI(67):75–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy SB, Smith M, Morris L, Orlovsky N, Khalilov A (2014) Impact of the desiccation of the Aral Sea on summertime surface air temperatures. J Arid Environ 110:79–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sible E, Cooper A, Malkia K, Bruder K, Watkins SC, Fofanov Y, Putonti C (2015) Survey of viral populations within Lake Michigan nearshore waters at four Chicago area beaches. Data in Brief 5:9–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Small EE, Sloan LC, Hostetler S, Giorgi F (1999) Simulating the water balance of the Aral Sea with a coupled regional climate-lake model. J Geophys Res 104(D6):6583–6602

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Small EE, Sloan LC, Nychka D (2001) Changes in surface air temperature caused by desiccation of the Aral Sea. J Clim 14:284–299

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snedden GA, Cable JE, Swarzenski C, Swenson E (2007) Sediment discharge into a subsiding Louisiana deltaic estuary through a Mississippi River diversion. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 71(1–2):181–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ste A, Kordan S (2015) Analysis of profitability of rainwater harvesting, gray water recycling and drain water heat recovery systems. Resour Conserv Recy 105(Part A):84–94

    Google Scholar 

  • van Steenbergen F, Oliemans W (2002) A review of policies in groundwater management in Pakistan 1950–2000. Water Policy 4(4):323–344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vostokova EA (2004) Ecological disaster linked to landscape composition changes in the Aral Sea basin. In: Glantz MH (ed) Creeping environmental problems and sustainable development in the Aral Sea region. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, pp 26–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang D (1999) Impact of inter-basin water transfer project on the eco-environment abroad and the development tendency. Environ Sci Trend 20(3):28–32, In Chinese

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang HC, Jiang YZ, Lu F, Dong YJ (2008) Inspiration of inter-basin water transfer abroad on operation of middle route of south-to-north water transfer project. Adv Sci Technol Water Resour 28(2):79–83 (In Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang HQ, Steyer GD, Couvillion BR, Rybczyk JM, Beck HJ, Sleavin WJ, Meselhe EA, Allison MA, Boustany RG, Fischenich CJ, Rivera-Monroy VH (2014) Forecasting landscape effects of Mississippi River diversions on elevation and accretion in Louisiana deltaic wetlands under future environmental uncertainty scenarios. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 138:57–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang XL (2004) The famous water transfer projects in foreign basins and regions. Water Resour Elec Power 30(1):1–25 (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wen L, Rogers K, Ling J, Saintilan H (2011) The impacts of river regulation and water diversion on the hydrological drought characteristics in the Lower Murrumbidgee River, Australia. J Hydrol 405(3–4):382–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whish-Wilson P (2002) The Aral Sea environmental health crisis. J Rural Trop Public Health 1:29–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiggs GFS, O’Hara SL, Wegerdt J, Van Der Meer J, Small I, Hubbard RB (2003) The dynamics and characteristics of aeolian dust in dry land Central Asia: possible impacts on human exposure and respiratory health in the Aral Sea basin. Geogr J 169:142–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu K, Zhu J, Gu Y (2012) Impact of the eastern water diversion from the south to the north project on the saltwater intrusion in the Changjiang Estuary in China. Acta Oceanol Sin 31:47–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang LX (2003) Water diversion project abroad. China Waterpower Press, Beijing (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang JP (2012) The study on compensation mechanism innovation in inter-basin water transfer, Ph.D Thesis. Wuhan University, China, In Chinese

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao J (2010) Terrestrial water cycle scheme in Heihe River Basin and its responses to human activities, Ph.D Thesis. China University of Geosciences, China, In Chinese

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao X, Barlow J, Taylor BL, Pitman RL, Wang K, Wei Z, Stewart BS, Turvey ST, Akamatsu T, Reeves RR, Wang D (2008) Abundance and conservation status of the Yangtze finless porpoise in the Yangtze River. China Biol Conserv 141:3006–3018

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, Z.Y., Zuo, J., Zillante, G., 2015. Transformation of water resource management: a case study of the South-to-North Water Diversion project. J. Clean. Prod. In Press, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.08.066.

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was co-supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, China (ZR2014DP005) and the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Zaozhuang University, China (2014BS11). I appreciate the Editor Dr. Philippe Garrigues and anonymous referees, whose constructive comments allowed me to improve the manuscript. My sincere gratitude also goes to my wife Qian Wang who did a lot of the translation work for the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of City and Architecture Engineering, Zaozhuang University, Zaozhuang, Shandong, 277160, China

    Wen Zhuang

  2. Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, Shandong, 264003, China

    Wen Zhuang

Authors
  1. Wen Zhuang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wen Zhuang.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhuang, W. Eco-environmental impact of inter-basin water transfer projects: a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 12867–12879 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6854-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6854-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation