South Sichuan water shortage test

China Newsweek reporter/won won

Published in the 2023th issue of China Newsweek magazine on June 6, 19

"The white dragon is out of the Dragon Palace!" Tourists from the White Dragon Pool said. Bailongchi is located in the Hulukou Reservoir in Weiyuan County, Neijiang City, Sichuan Province, and has huge stones like dragon heads in the pool. At the end of May, Weiyuan continued to be dry, the water level of Bailong Pond dropped, and the "White Dragon" rarely appeared on the surface, attracting a large number of tourists. By the White Dragon Pond, a large cracked riverbed is exposed to the sun.

At the same time, Weiyuan's tap water was urgent. On May 5, Weiyuan Qingxi Water Co., Ltd., the only water supply company in Weiyuan County, issued the "Notice of Time-limited Pressure Water Supply", saying, "Due to continuous drought and lack of rain, the only source of drinking water in the county - Changhu Reservoir is seriously insufficient, and the total reservoir capacity is only about 31 million cubic meters, after deducting the dead storage capacity of 2000 million cubic meters, according to the current sunrise storage capacity, it can only last for about 800 days without rainfall." ”

Coincidentally, in March this year, the Fushun County Water Bureau of Zigong City, Sichuan Province, which is also part of the southern Sichuan region, issued the "Water Conservation Proposal to the People of the County", advising residents to "try to shorten the time of water use, use water at different peaks, store water reasonably, turn off the faucet at will, and ensure that people stop when they walk." "The extreme dry weather has continued since August 3, and the water storage of all drinking water sources in the county has been extremely reduced, and the available water consumption of some water sources has exceeded the production needs of the water plant in January," the notice said. ”

The southern Sichuan region, led by Zigong and Neijiang, is facing drought and water shortage.

Ten years and nine droughts

The most recent hot search on Weibo was a proposal from Huidong County Water Supply Co., Ltd. in Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, at the end of May.

In order to encourage local residents to save water, the company recommends that "bathing too often is not good for skin health, and it is most suitable to use 2~4 times a month". At the same time, the company also mentioned that due to the sharp decrease in rainfall in 2023, the water reserves of the two places have been significantly reduced, and if the water reserves continue to be urgent, the company will adopt the method of water supply in different time periods and areas to meet the water needs of citizens as much as possible.

Huidong County is located at the southern end of Liangshan, near the border of Yunnan Province. The aforementioned Weiyuan County in Neijiang City and Fushun County in Zigong City are both south of the Chengdu Plain, near the Yangtze River. The drought mainly affected the southern part of Sichuan, involving millions of people.

On June 6, a staff member of the Weiyuan County Water Conservancy Bureau told China Newsweek, "The domestic water was decompressed for a day, and [later] there was no decompression." The last propaganda meant to encourage everyone to save water, and some people interpreted us as having a great sense of crisis, but in fact we had no problem in two or three months. At the same time, the staff of the propaganda department of the Weiyuan County Party Committee said that the recent drought in Weiyuan has been eased, and the road surface in the early morning even looks a little damp.

Zigong City Water Bureau staff told China Newsweek that Zigong City diverted water from the Tuo River, and the drought was alleviated, "the drought in agricultural meteorology has been alleviated, but there are still some problems in rural drinking water", and the current water supply can be maintained until July.

In fact, this round of drought in southern Sichuan was previously predicted. In April this year, the Sichuan Meteorological Bureau analyzed that it is expected that during this year's flood season (May ~ September), the average precipitation in the province is slightly less than the same period of the year, and more than the same period last year; The average temperature is higher than the same period of the year and lower than the same period last year. The overall rainfall is distributed in the "more west and less east", with both drought and flood, and regional phased drought and flood disasters are obvious. The number of high temperature days is higher than that of the same period of the year. In addition, the Sichuan Hydrological Center also predicted that the Tsing Yi River, Tuo River and Fu River may flood beyond the warning level, and there may be periodic drought in the northeast and central and southern parts of the basin.

The water shortage in southern Sichuan did not start this year. In 2022, southern Sichuan also experienced high temperature and drought and water shortage. According to public information from the China Meteorological Administration, in August 2022, extreme high temperature and heat wave weather occurred from the Sichuan Basin to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the number of high temperature days generally exceeded 8 days, 25 to 10 days more than the same period of the year, and more than 20 days more locally, breaking a number of records since 20.

The drought in Sichuan is a protracted problem. According to the "Sichuan Provincial Chronicle of Water Conservancy", "Sichuan Meteorological Bureau analyzed a series of data from 1951 to 1980 in the 30 years, except for 1954 and 1956, when there was no drought in the province, the rest of the 93% of the years had different degrees of drought, basically ten years and nine droughts. ”

Engineering water shortage

Sichuan is not short of water, and is even known as the "province of a thousand rivers". According to the Sichuan Yearbook, there are nearly 1400,1000 large and small rivers in Sichuan Province, all over lakes and glaciers, with more than 200,4889 lakes and more than 75 glaciers. The average annual precipitation in Sichuan Province is about 3489.7 billion cubic meters, and the total water resources are <>.<> billion cubic meters, which is higher than that of the whole country.

There is no shortage of big rivers in southern Sichuan. One of the most important rivers in southern Sichuan, the rushing Jinsha River flows through Liangshan and joins the Yangtze River in Yibin, the largest hydropower base in China.

But why is Sichuan abundant in water resources, but it is short of water for many years? Yu Song, a lecturer at the Institute of Water Sciences at Beijing Normal University, told China Newsweek that the replenishment of surface water resources mainly comes from precipitation, and the decrease in precipitation is accompanied by the intensification of sunshine evaporation, resulting in a decrease in river water, reservoirs, lakes and soil water content, causing drought and water shortage.

Dong Zengchuan, vice president of Hohai University and an expert in hydrological resources, told China Newsweek, "The problems faced by the southwest region in recent years are mainly related to the northward migration of the westerly wind belt and the weakening of convective activity. ”

However, water scarcity is not only a natural problem, but also a social problem. As Chen Ajiang, director of Hohai University's Center for Environment and Society, said in his paper, "Whether there is a water shortage problem is not only limited by natural factors, but more importantly depends on how people act - in essence, water scarcity is a social problem." ”

From this point of view, the important reason for the water shortage in Sichuan, the "province of a thousand rivers", is that there are too few water conservancy irrigation projects, that is, "engineering water shortage".

In 2016, Leng Gang, then secretary of the party group and director of the Sichuan Provincial Water Resources Department, told the West China Metropolis Daily, "Sichuan is not short of water, but a lack of large and medium-sized water irrigation facilities. In our industry parlance, this is called engineering water scarcity. From the perspective of rainfall, it is mainly concentrated in the July, August and September months of each year, and the other nine months have relatively little rainfall. But when the rains fell, 7 percent of them flowed away in the form of floods, leaving no water left. Leng Gang said in a metaphor, "To put it bluntly, after the rain falls, there is no 'altar jar' to fill, and there is no water available in the arid place." ”

In the spring of 2010, a severe drought struck Sichuan, affecting more than 800 million people and causing direct economic losses of more than 13.<> billion. Reflecting on the drought, Chen Lei, then Minister of Water Resources, said, "Although the southwest region is relatively rich in water resources, the spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall is uneven, coupled with the limitations of karst and other geological geomorphology, large and medium-sized backbone control water source projects and configuration projects are insufficient, and supporting water diversion facilities are lacking, and the problem of engineering water shortage is very prominent." ”

The number of large reservoirs in Sichuan lags significantly behind the national average. According to the grading of water conservancy and hydropower projects and flood standards formulated by the Ministry of Water Resources, large reservoirs with a reservoir capacity of more than 1 million cubic meters are large, medium-sized reservoirs with a reservoir capacity of 1 million to 1 million cubic meters are medium-sized reservoirs, and small reservoirs with a reservoir capacity of less than 1 million cubic meters are small reservoirs.

According to the 2022 National Water Conservancy Development Statistical Bulletin released by the Ministry of Water Resources in December 12, a total of 2021 large reservoirs had been built in the country that year, with an average of about 805 in each provincial-level administrative region except Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. According to the "List of Persons Responsible for Safety Management and Safety of Large and Medium-sized Reservoirs" released by the Sichuan Provincial Water Resources Department in April 26, there are only 2023 large reservoirs in Sichuan Province, less than half of the national average.

Sichuan's water conservancy projects also store significantly less water than other provinces along the Yangtze River with similar populations. In September 2022, the total water storage of reservoirs in Hubei Province was 9.135 billion cubic meters, and in November 9, the total water storage of various water conservancy projects in Hunan Province was 2022.11 billion cubic meters. In April 238, the total water storage capacity of various water conservancy projects in Sichuan Province was only 07.2022 billion cubic meters.

Take Weiyuan County as an example. Weiyuan County covers an area of 1289,14 square kilometers, has jurisdiction over 69 towns, and has a total population of more than 2021,488 (8), but there is only one Changhu Reservoir, consisting of Changshaba Reservoir and Hulukou Reservoir. The capacity of the two reservoirs is 1601.5 million cubic meters and <>.<> million cubic meters respectively, which can only be regarded as small and medium-sized reservoirs according to the standards of the Ministry of Water Resources.

Moreover, Weiyuan County only has half of the water rights of the Changhu Reservoir. A staff member of the Weiyuan County Water Conservancy Bureau told China Newsweek that when the reservoir was built, Zigong also contributed part of the funds, and the two places each owned half of the water rights. Therefore, Changhu Reservoir not only supplies water for Weiyuan's life, industry and agriculture, but also is responsible for part of Zigong's water.

China Newsweek compiled publicly available information and found that Sichuan's per capita comprehensive water consumption was less than three-quarters of the national per capita. According to the 2022 China Water Resources Bulletin released by the Ministry of Water Resources in June 6, the country's per capita comprehensive water consumption in 2021 was 2021 cubic meters. According to the "419 Sichuan Provincial Water Resources Bulletin" released by the Sichuan Provincial Water Resources Department, the per capita comprehensive water consumption of Sichuan Province in 2021 was 2021 cubic meters, and the per capita comprehensive water consumption of Sichuan Province was 292 cubic meters less than the national per capita level.

"Create another Dujiangyan"

To solve the problem of engineering water shortage, we need to start with engineering. Yu Song believes that the solution to the drought problem in southern Sichuan should be "strengthening reservoirs, improving water diversion projects, and increasing the construction of water-saving facilities for farmland irrigation."

In fact, the country has been concerned about the water shortage in the southwest for several years. On December 2010, 12, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the Decision on Accelerating the Reform and Development of Water Conservancy, proposing to "accelerate the construction of key water source projects in engineering water-scarce areas such as southwest China".

In the "Opinions on Further Strengthening the Construction of Water Conservancy Projects to Ensure High-quality Economic and Social Development" issued by Sichuan Province in January this year, it was proposed that by 1, the skeleton layout of the water network will be basically formed, and a great breakthrough in water conservancy development will be achieved. The capacity to guarantee water supply in urban and rural areas has been significantly improved, with 2025 billion cubic meters of new water supply capacity added, and the penetration rate of tap water in rural areas has reached more than 20%.

The above document indicates that Sichuan Province plans to improve the backbone water network in the belly area of the basin and the southwest Sichuan area, enhance the capacity of water supply security, and build key water source projects in the northwest Sichuan, Qinba Mountain and Wumeng mountain areas. According to the latest data in May this year, the total investment in water conservancy projects under construction in Sichuan Province has reached 5 billion yuan, a record high.

Specific to southern Sichuan, the Xiangjiaba irrigation area project with a total investment of 116,8978.60 million yuan and a construction period of <> months is being built on the Jinsha River.

Xiangjiaba Irrigation Area is located in the low-hilly area in the southwest of the Sichuan Basin and the northeast of Yunnan Province, which is mainly irrigated, taking into account urban and rural life and industrial water supply. It relies on the existing Xiangjiaba Hydropower Station, which belongs to the Jinsha River hydropower base and ranks fifth in China in terms of installed capacity as of September 2022, 9. According to the official website of Xiangjiaba Irrigation District, "the implementation of the project will completely solve the problem of production and domestic water in the water-scarce areas of Yibin, Luzhou, Zigong and Neijiang in southern Sichuan, which is equivalent to building another 'Dujiangyan' in southern Sichuan."

Dujiangyan Irrigation District was founded at the end of the Warring States period, drawing water from the Min River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, to irrigate the Chengdu Plain, turning it into a "country of heavenly prefectures" with abundant products. At present, Dujiangyan is still responsible for irrigating more than 7.37 million mu of farmland in 1043 cities (prefectures) and 50 counties (cities and districts) in the central and western regions of the Sichuan Basin, and more than <> key enterprises and urban domestic water supply in Chengdu.

Like Dujiangyan, the Xiangjiaba irrigation area is also expected to be high. The relevant person in charge of Xiangjiaba Irrigation District Construction and Development Co., Ltd. told China Newsweek, "After the completion of the Xiangjiaba Irrigation Area project, it can provide 17.82 billion cubic meters of water per year, irrigate 530.143 million mu of farmland, and supplement the water problems of 8 towns (including 400 counties: Pingshan County, Xuzhou District, Sheng County, Changning County, Nanxi District, Xingwen County, Fushun County and Shuifu City) and more than <> million rural people in the irrigation area, and supply water to the surrounding Zigong, Neijiang urban areas and Longchang urban areas." ”

The person in charge of the project also said that the completion of the Xiangjiaba irrigation area project "will end the history of no large-scale backbone water conservancy projects in the southern Sichuan area, fundamentally solve the problem of water shortage in agricultural irrigation, urban and rural production and life in the irrigation area, and improve the safety of drinking water, which will play an extremely important role in stabilizing and improving grain production in the irrigation area, ensuring food security, and implementing the national strategy of 'storing grain in the land'."

As mentioned above, according to 2021 data, Sichuan's per capita comprehensive water consumption is 127 cubic meters less than the national per capita level. According to the seventh national census, the permanent population of the South Sichuan Economic Zone in Sichuan Province in 2020 was 1447.3 million. If the per capita water consumption gap in southern Sichuan is consistent with the overall level of Sichuan, then the per capita water consumption in southern Sichuan needs to increase by about 18,228.17 million cubic meters to reach the national average. If the Xiangjiaba irrigation area project can provide 82.<> billion cubic meters of water per year as expected, the water shortage problem in southern Sichuan will be basically solved.

China Newsweek, Issue 2023, 22

Disclaimer: The publication of China Newsweek manuscripts is authorized in writing