School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemFreshwater Supply to Metropolitan Shanghai: Issues of Quality from Source to Consumers(MDPI, 2019-10)Shanghai is experiencing drinking water supply problems that are caused by heavy pollution of its raw water supply, deficiencies in its treatment processes, and water quality deterioration in the distribution system. However, little attention has been paid these problems of water quality in raw water, water treatment, and household drinking water. Based on water quality data from 1979 to 2016, we show that microbes (TBC), eutrophication (TP, TN, and NH3–N), heavy metals (Fe, Mn, and Hg), and organic contamination (chemical oxygen demand (COD), detergent (Linear Alklybenzene Sulfonate, LAS), and volatile phenols (VP)) pollute the raw water sources of the Huangpu River and the Changjiang (Yangtze River) estuary. The average concentrations of these contaminants in the Huangpu River are almost double that of the Changjiang estuary, forcing a rapid shift to the Changjiang estuary for raw water. In spite of filtering and treatment, TN, NH3–N, Fe, COD, and chlorine maxima of the treated water and drinking water still exceed the Chinese National Standard. We determine that the relevant threats from the water source to household water in Shanghai are: (1) eutrophication arising from highly concentrated TN, TP, COD, and algal density in the raw water; (2) increasing salinity in the river estuary, especially at the Qingcaosha Reservoir (currently the major freshwater source for Shanghai); (3) more than 50% of organic constituents and by-products remain in treated water; and, (4) bacteria and turbidity increase in the course of water delivery to users. The analysis presents a holistic assessment of the water quality threats to metropolitan Shanghai in relation to the city’s rapid development.
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ItemBetween Project and Region: The Challenges of Managing Water in Shandong Province After the South-North Water Transfer Project(WATER ALTERNATIVES ASSOC, 2020-02-01)This paper examines the challenges that a region of China is facing as it seeks to integrate a centrally planned, hierarchically determined water transfer project into its own water supply systems. Water from China's South-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP) has been available in Shandong since 2013. How has this province been managing the integration of SNWTP water into its water supply plans, and what challenges is it facing in the process? This paper demonstrates that Shandongʼs planners consistently overestimated future demand for water; this, together with the threats posed by reduced flows in the Yellow River, encouraged the Shandong government to support the building of the SNWTP. However, between the genesis of the plans for the SNWTP and its construction, the supply from the Yellow River became more reliable and the engineering systems and the efficiency of water use in Shandong Province itself has improved. As a result, by the time the SNWTP water became available, the province had little pressing need for it. Besides this reduced demand for SNWTP water, there have been difficulties in managing delivery of, and payment for, water within the province. These difficulties include unfinished local auxiliary projects that connect cities to the main canal, high water prices, conflict and lack of coordination among stakeholders, and ambiguous management policies. The result is that in 2016, on average, cities used less than 10% of their allocated quota of SNWTP water, while seven cities used none of their quota. The story of the SNWTP in Shandong is that of a centralised, hierarchically planned, fixed infrastructure with its deterministic projections coming into conflict with the fluidity of water demand and local political circumstances.