Water demand management: A case study of the Heihe River Basin in China

The study investigates the water supply and demand situation in the Heihe River Basin, China, and formulates a demand oriented water management approach in the irrigated agricultural sector in response to the increasing water shortage due to population growth and local economic development. This approach requires institutional reinforcement, water pricing reform and agricultural sector adjustment based on a virtual water trade analysis. It is also proposed to use a river basin water balance model for the water management authority to support decision-making. The paper reviews both technical and non-technical measures proposed for the Heihe River Basin management and concludes that with the growing water demand, the water authority can't continue to supply the water without trying to actually influence the demand. Besides technical measures, e.g., through water saving measures and reservoir building, demand management has to come into force as an important part of integrated river basin management, so as to ensure the sustainable development of the Heihe River Basin.