20110228.sun yangbo

Sun Yangbo Yellow River Conservancy Commission

Yellow River Water Allocation and Environmental Flow Management

2005/10 2

River Length (km)

1. Nile 6670 2. Amazon 6436 3. Yangtze 6300 4. Mississippi 6021 5. Yellow River 5464 6. Mekong 4880

2005/10 3

Facts and Numbers

basin area 790,000 km2

river length 5,464 km elevation drop 4,480 m average rainfall 450 mm population 115 million total water resources 58 BCM

per capita water 550 m3

YRCC HQ

Challenges for River Basin Management

Floods Water Scarcity

Water pollution Soil Erosion/Sediment

5

Scaled Yellow River

Digital Yellow River

Flood safety

Real Yellow River

1 2 9

Maintain Healthy Life of the Yellow River

Flow regime

Pollution control

Sediment mgt

Mission

Indicator

Actions

Tool Box

4 3 6 8 7 5

Framework to Sustainable River Basin Management

  1 × Ultimate target   “Keeping the Yellow River Healthy”

  4 × Criteria (“the 4-nos”)   No embankment breaching   No river running dry   No water pollution beyond standard   No riverbed rising further

  9 × Actions   Take measures to reduce sediment inflow to the Yellow River   Manage effectively the water resources utilization of the Yellow River basin and its

related regions   Strengthen the study on water transfer plans to increase the water resources of the

Yellow River   Establish water and sediment regulation system   Work out a scientific and reasonable general plan for the control and management of

the lower river course   Create favourable hydrological process to mitigate the shrinking of the main channel   Meet water demands to maintain river itself cleaning capacity   Carry out Yellow River Delta management to reduce seawater impact to the lower reach   Maintain the ecological system sustainable in the Yellow River delta

Political Decision and public consensus

  Laws and policy making   Public participation

Demand of Environmental Flow Management

  river flow   Ecological restoration   Sediments transportation   Water quality

1998: Call for Environmental Flow Management Program

  Water scarcity   Climate Change   Economic development   Population growth   Transboundary river

New Challenges: River Runs Dry since

1970s

Environmental Flow Management Program 1998-2010

Water allocation and Environmental Flow   Legal measures, Public Consultation,   Technical measures

  Water Allocation Scheme 58 bcm=37+21 bcm (EF)   Remote control and Real time control

  Artificial Floods   Flushing river sediments   Flood plain and wetlands restoration   Improve river morphology and Reduce flood risk

  Ecological restoration

Water Quantity and Water Quality

  Continuous river flow restored   in 1997, river dried for 226 days   since 1998, the river has flow continuously for 10

years

  Water quality improved

  Legislation of water pollution control   Pollution reduction and cleaner production Tech.   Monitoring and supervision enhanced   Water quality trends of mainstream of the Yellow

River in 2002-2006  

万家寨水库!

Riparian Wetlands   Wetlands   Comprise of river channel, flood plain, retention basin, lakes, etc.   The total area of the downstream floodplain about 3544 km2   The ecological status of the wetlands depend on the fresh water supply

  Wetlands eco-system   habitat of the fishes and migration birds   recovered from the dry up periods

Balance of Social and Ecological Benefits

  A river provides social benefits   Flood control function   Drought control function   Water supply function   Hydro-power function   Navigation function   Water quality self-purification function   Recreation function

  A river can be managed to optimise, or choose a balance of, the:   Social benefits   Ecological benefits

  The River Health Index is an important tool to help achieve the balance

Presentation Heading Presentation Heading

River Health Index

Social/economics

Fish

Physical form Hydrology Water quality Ecology

Environmental

Indicators…

Invertebrates

Vegetation

Wetland vegetation

(remote sensing)

Primary productivity

Hydraulic habitat

Survey and modelling