Discussion on issues related to water peaking in China
摘要
The evolution trend and the peak of water use are related to the overall situation of economic and social development and ecological environmental protection, and directly affect the overall pattern of major water conservancy projects, such as the national water grid design and construction. In this study, the definition and connotation of water-use peaking were discussed, and the natural social characteristics, including of GDP per capita, industrial structure, and the level of urbanization, when the national water-use peaking have been reached are summarized for 15 developed countries. Especially, the possible reasons for water-use amounts since 2013 presented a slowly come-down trend were identified and discussed, and then give a important conclusion that it is early to say the water-use peak has been reached in China. Finally, it is pointed out that the pressure of water resources security in China is still seriously, and there is a certain uncertainty about the evolution of water-use in the future. What is the peak water volume? and when should be the peak? The conclusion needs further deeply study. At the same time, a nice top-level design of the national water-grid project is necessary, to improve the ability to optimize the allocation of water resources at different scales, and provide water resources security for the high-quality development of the country.