Water allocation leveraging multi-reservoir operation for arid basins with high conveyance losses: Trade-off between efficiency and equity
- 1State Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an 710048, China; Corresponding author.
- 2State Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an 710048, China
- 3State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
Abstract
Balancing efficiency and equity in water allocation remains a major challenge in water-scarce arid basins, especially due to substantial conveyance losses along natural river channels. A key objective is to ensure equitable water supply between upstream and downstream users while reducing evaporation and seepage losses during long-distance conveyance, thereby improving overall water use efficiency. This study develops a water allocation model that balances efficiency and equity by leveraging multi-reservoir cooperation in arid basins with high conveyance losses. Three water allocation scenarios are designed: efficiency-prioritized, equity-prioritized, and a balanced approach integrating both objectives. The Tarim River Basin, the largest inland river basin in China, is selected as the study area. Results indicate that the efficiency-prioritized scenario yields the lowest annual basin-wide irrigation shortage (6 × 10 8 m 3 ), but suffers from extreme spatial disparities, with shortage rate differences reaching 30.1% among irrigation districts. Conversely, while the equity-prioritized scenario achieves absolute fairness, it increases conveyance losses to 67 × 10 8 m 3 (26% of total basin inflow). This leads to a 69.8% surge in total water shortages compared to the efficiency scenario, signaling a sharp decline in overall efficiency. The balanced approach offers a viable compromise, maintaining a moderate shortage rate difference of 8.6% while keeping conveyance losses at 63.66 × 10 8 m 3 . Based on these results, this study proposes two management recommendations for water allocation in arid basins with high conveyance losses: (i) each user should prioritize water from the nearest river section to reduce conveyance losses, and (ii) for users served by multiple sources, priority should be given to rivers with lower conveyance loss rates. These findings provide a practical framework for water resources management in arid basins affected by high conveyance losses.
Related
- Genetics of energy allocation to growth in Angus cattle: trait derivation, model comparison, and relationships with feed efficiency and body composition traits
- AI-driven digital twinning quantifies the trade-off between flood conveyance and riparian stability under climate extremes
- Beyond Conveyance: Assessing the Contribution of Process-Critical Bacteria from Urban Sewer Systems to Wastewater Treatment Plants
- Leveraging genomic deep learning models for the prediction of noncoding variant effects
- A research roadmap for grazinglands: leveraging scientific evidence to drive beef sustainability outcomes.
BibTeX
@article{guo2026water,
title = {{Water allocation leveraging multi-reservoir operation for arid basins with high conveyance losses: Trade-off between efficiency and equity}},
author = {Aijun Guo and Hongjiang Zhu and Jianxia Chang and Yimin Wang and Xiaoya Deng and Xuebin Wang},
journal = {Ecological Indicators},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115508},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115508},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Water allocation leveraging multi-reservoir operation for arid basins with high conveyance losses: Trade-off between efficiency and equity
AU - Aijun Guo
AU - Hongjiang Zhu
AU - Jianxia Chang
AU - Yimin Wang
AU - Xiaoya Deng
AU - Xuebin Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Ecological Indicators
DO - 10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115508
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115508
AB - Balancing efficiency and equity in water allocation remains a major challenge in water-scarce arid basins, especially due to substantial conveyance losses along natural river channels. A key objective is to ensure equitable water supply between upstream and downstream users while reducing evaporation and seepage losses during long-distance conveyance, thereby improving overall water use efficiency. This study develops a water allocation model that balances efficiency and equity by leveraging multi-reservoir cooperation in arid basins with high conveyance losses. Three water allocation scenarios are designed: efficiency-prioritized, equity-prioritized, and a balanced approach integrating both objectives. The Tarim River Basin, the largest inland river basin in China, is selected as the study area. Results indicate that the efficiency-prioritized scenario yields the lowest annual basin-wide irrigation shortage (6 × 10 8 m 3 ), but suffers from extreme spatial disparities, with shortage rate differences reaching 30.1% among irrigation districts. Conversely, while the equity-prioritized scenario achieves absolute fairness, it increases conveyance losses to 67 × 10 8 m 3 (26% of total basin inflow). This leads to a 69.8% surge in total water shortages compared to the efficiency scenario, signaling a sharp decline in overall efficiency. The balanced approach offers a viable compromise, maintaining a moderate shortage rate difference of 8.6% while keeping conveyance losses at 63.66 × 10 8 m 3 . Based on these results, this study proposes two management recommendations for water allocation in arid basins with high conveyance losses: (i) each user should prioritize water from the nearest river section to reduce conveyance losses, and (ii) for users served by multiple sources, priority should be given to rivers with lower conveyance loss rates. These findings provide a practical framework for water resources management in arid basins affected by high conveyance losses.
SN - 1470-160X
SN - 1872-7034
ER -