Integrated river basin management in rapidly urbanizing areas: a case of Shenzhen, China

Abstract

The rapid urbanization of China is causing a burden on their water resources and hindering their sustainable development. This paper analyzes effective methods to integrated river basin management (IRBM) using Longgang River basin of Shenzhen as an example, which is the city with the fastest rate of urbanization in China and even the whole world. Over the past 20 years, China has undergone a population boom due to the increase of immigrant workers and rapid development of laborintensive industries, which led to the sharp increase of water consumption and sewage discharge. However, the construction of the water infrastructure is still lagging far behind the environmental and social development, with only 32.7% of sewage in the district being treated. Currently, every water quality indicator of the Longgang River basin was unable to meet the required corresponding environmental standards, which further aggravated the water shortages of the region. Thus, an analytical framework is proposed to address the IRBM of the study area. The problems with the current management system include the lack of decentralization in decision-making, lack of enforcement with redundant plans, weak management capacity, financial inadequacy, and a poor system of stakeholder participation. In light of the principles of IRBM and the situation of the region, corresponding measures are put forward, including an increase of power given to sub-district offices, fewer but more feasible plans, capacity building among stakeholders, a combination of planning and marketing for overcoming financial inadequacy, and profound reform in the public participation system. The framework and institutional suggestions could inform similar processes in other representative river basins.

The Water-Economy Nexus and Sustainable Transition of the Pearl River Delta, China (1999–2015)

“…Urbanization is characterized by population aggregation, land use and land cover change-especially the expansion of built-up spaces-and intensive, localized economic development, all of which have significant impact on water resources and the broader water environment [12,[19][20][21][22]. In turn, the degradation of water resources encumbers socioeconomic development, for instance through higher costs of water use and sewage treatment, higher incidence of infectious diseases such as cholera and dysentery, and adverse public opinions arising from water pollution and other unpleasant aspects of a degraded environment.…”

“…As of 2015, in economic structure, "Industry" was the dominant sector, contributing 40.92% of the PRD's GDP, followed by "Other services" (20.04%) and "Retail, hotels, and catering" (13.46%). Accompanying the rapid pace of urbanization has been a concomitant growth in water consumption and sewage discharge, which have had a significant negative impact on surface water quality throughout the region [10][11][12]. The PRD has a dense river network with an area of 9750 km 2 .…”

“…The western and northern parts of the delta cover 8370 km 2 and have nearly 100 major waterways, with a river network density of 0.81 km/km 2 . The eastern river delta covers 1380 km 2 and has five Accompanying the rapid pace of urbanization has been a concomitant growth in water consumption and sewage discharge, which have had a significant negative impact on surface water quality throughout the region [10][11][12]. The PRD has a dense river network with an area of 9750 km 2 .…”

The impact of urban expansion and agricultural legacies on trace metal accumulation in fluvial and lacustrine sediments of the lower Chesapeake Bay basin, USA

“…Globally, basins that once drained extensive areas of resource extraction and agriculture are rapidly being converted to urban-industrial centers and "mega-cities" (Taylor and Owens 2009;Duran et al, 2012). Therefore rapidly developing/industrializing and more economically developed countries are progressively going to be encountering the impact of contaminant laden legacy sediment in the associated fluvial basins and coastal zones (Ekeanyanwu et al, 2010;Taylor and Owens, 2009;Bhatt and Gardner, 2009;Singh et al, 2005;Liu and Xiaoming, 2011;Dhivert et al, 2016).…”

Simulation of storm event flow for pilot runoff treatment wetland

“…In order to remove the pollutants in the stormwater runoff, various best management practices (BMPs) and low impact developments (LIDs) have been employed to control runoff volume and pollutant loading, such as retention and infiltration systems used for collection, infiltration and transport of stormwater into a groundwater system (Walsh, 2000;Liu and Ma, 2011;Viol et al, 2012). Most of the studies have focused on the field monitoring of storm events and performance evaluation of BMPs and LIDs, which are influenced by various weather and environmental factors (Struck et al, 2009;Hathaway et al, 2010;Wright Water Engineers Inc. and Geosyntec Consultants, 2010;Ying and Sansalone, 2010;Parker et al, 2010;Lim et al, 2012).…”