Determination of a reasonable percentage for ecological water-use in the Haihe River Basin, China

An investigation was conducted to study problems of determining a reasonable percentage for ecological water-use in the Haihe River Basin of China. Three key aspects for the ecological water requirement (EWR) were analyzed, involving i) the EWR for river system, ii) the EWR for wetlands and lakes, and iii) the EWR for discharge into the sea to maintain the estuary ecological balance of the Haihe River. The Montana method and related water level-flow relationships, and the statistic approach based on hydrological records were applied to estimate different components of EWR. The results showed that the total ecological water demand in the region. was about 3.47-14.56 billion m(3). Considering flow regime change and uncertainty, the ecological water demand could be estimated by the hydrological frequency approach. Preliminary analysis showed that for different annual runoff under the frequencies of 20%, 50%, 75% and 95%, the ecological water demand approached 12%-50%, 18%-74%, 24%-103%, 35%-148% and 16%-66%, respectively. By further analysis to balance ecological water-use and socioeconomic water-use, the rational percentage of ecological water-use was estimated as 35%-74%, that provides useful information to judge whether the allocation of water resources is reasonable, and was proved to be satisfactory by comparing with the practical condition.