2.2 Development and Utilization of Water Resources

2.2.1 Current Situation of Water Demand and Supply

The Yellow River is the important water resources on north-west China and North China plain. It will not only be satisfactory to the demand of water usage for the basin region economic and social development but also supply water for the users neighboring its basin and keeping certain quantity of water volume for sediment flushing into the sea.

Based on the calculation of 56 years series statistic data from 1919-1975, the annual mean natural runoff volume of the Yellow River measures 58 billion m³. Ground water potentiality is about 45.3 billion m³. The total volume is 72.8 billion m³ after deducting repetitive calculated volume 30.5 billion m ³of river runoff and ground water.

According to statistics, the current state of water diversion and usage of the available river runoff reaches to 39.5 billion m³, and water consumption 30.7 billion m³. Agricultural irrigation is the main user, with annual diverted water volume 36.2 billion m³ and consumption 28.4 billion m³, occupying 92% of the total water consumption. Industry and urban area amounts to 3.3 billion m³ and with water consumption 2.3 billion m³, occupying 8% of the total water consumption. Currently, the exploited ground water volume reaches 9.7 billion m³, among which, 2.3 billion m³ is on the upper river, 5.4 billion m³ on the middle river and 2 billion m³ on the lower river. The water mentioned above mostly concentrate in the major tributaries, like Fenhe river, Shushui River, Weihe River, Wei River and gullies of the river basins etc.

2.2.2 Irrigation State

The total irrigated area in 1949 was about 800,000 hm² in the Yellow River Basin and lower reach, and  expanded to7.126 million hm² in 1990, among which, 5.125 million hm² was benefited by the surface water consitituting 72% of the total irrigation. 2.001 million hm² was benefited by the well irrigation constituting 28% of the total. The Ningxia and Inner-Monglia Yellow River plain irrigated area on the upper reach, the Fen and Wei Rivers basin irrigated area and the irrigated area on the Lower River, the three large-scale segments, are the more concentrated irrigated area by the Yellow River, well developed in cropping and are the important grain and cotton production bases in China, all together totaling 5.658 million hm², covering 79% of the total number of the riverwide.

The benefits of the irrigation by the Yellow River are obviouse. According to statistic, unit grain output increasion with irrigation is from 3-5 times rather than that of which without irrigation system. The acculmulated increased grain output from 1950 to 1995 in river-wide amounts to 254.855 billion kg, cotton 2.58 bilion kg, oil-bearing cropping 7.05 billion kg, sugar beetroot 10.254 billion kg. The money value of benefits by irrigation calculates 179.74 billion RMB based on the price of the same year. The current value will be 451.323 billion RMB if refering to the price of 1995.  At the same period, the total investment on the irrigation in riverwide is 42 billion RMB, the ratio of investment and benefits is 1:4 with bretty good economic benefits.

2.2.3 Water demand of urban and industry

The water supply work in the Yellow River basin has a long history. There are many built structures in solution the water demand of Beijing, Tianjin and the major cities and townships along the river, however, such supply is not in huge quantity. Since 50¡¯s of this century, water supply works has been rapidly developed. Along with the development of industry and water demand of urban area, the water supply range extends as the time being, covering various cities, counties and townships and, the major industries are also included in huge increasingly demand rate. The water supply covers three kinds, the industry, living and others (the public, green plantation, environment beatifying as well as the environment taking and gardening etc).

In 1990, the industries and urban water uses accounted for 6.48 billion m³, among which, industrial uses 5.15 billion m³, taking 79%, the urban uses 1.33 billion m³, occupying 21% (as shown in Table 2.2.3). The water supply works were normally built up and managed by the city public infrastructure institutions. Quite a big number of the structures works on the ground water except a few numbers works on the surface water. For the large-scale industries, which are the bigger user of water, mostly rely on the river water, have their own water supply works for their own uses.

2.2.4 Hydropower generation

There are nine major multi-purpose projects and hydropower stations constructed on the main stream of the Yellow River as follows: Longyangxia, Liujiaxia, Yanguoxia, Bapanxia, Qingtongxia, Sanshenggong, Daxia, Tianqiao and Sanmenxia etc. and there are Nina, Lijiaxia, Wanjiazhai and Xiaolangdi multi-purpose project under construction. The total capacity of 13 reservoirs including accomplishment and under construction, is 56.35 billion m³ with 35.57 billion m³ effective storage. And the total installed capacity is 9.156 million KW, and annual average power generation is 34.31 billion kW.h that respectively takes 29.3% of the available exploited hydropower installed capacity and 30.2% of annual hydropower generation on the main stream. The construction of these projects on the main stream does not only exploits water and hydropower resources, but also brings tremendous comprehensive benefits in terms of flood control, ice-run flood control, siltation reduction, irrigation, water supply etc, which plays an important role in promoting national economic development and harnessing the Yellow River

Table 2.2.3 Industry and urban water uses of eight provinces along the Yellow River in1990.

2.2.5 Navigation

It has long history for navigation on partial section of the Yellow River. As early as Warring State Period(647BC), it recorded ¡°the grain of Qing State has been transported into Jin State by shipping¡±. During Han and Tang Dynasties, partial sections of the upper and middle reach were used for navigation. By end of Qing Dynasty and early of the Republic of China, with the construction of highway and railway, the navigation on the Yellow River declined with each passing day. Currently, only short distance and seasonal transportation by shipping for passengers and goods take place on partial section of the main stream with annual transportation 380,000 - 630,000 ton. The present state of navigation on the main stream shows on the table 2.2.5.

Table 2.2.5 Present Status of Navigation on the Main Stream of the Yellow River

The navigation condition of the Yellow River is very poor, there are many dangerous shoals on the most section of upper, middle and lower reaches with rapid flow, and it is frozen in the winter season. The middle and lower reaches are sediment-laden section with great variation between aggradation and degradation, it meanders and shifts abruptly, and flow variation between flood period and non-flood period is great, and partial sections are frozen in the winter season. At present, the passenger-cargo transport by shipping on the main stream of the Yellow River become less, especially on the lower reach. Recently, with the growth of water uses in industry and agriculture sectors, which results in cut-off of the lower reach year by year, there is no navigation basically on the lower reach of the Yellow River.