188
8 Groundwater Management
1.28 million km
2 in the plain area; the protection zone is 6.35 million km
2 , with
5.88 million km
2 located in the mountainous area and 0.47 million km
2 in the plain
area; and the reserve zone is 1.36 million km
2 , with 0.24 million km
2 located in the
mountainous area and 1.12 million km
2 in the plain area (Tang et al. 2012).
Although the groundwater function zone structure has been formulated, to date
no management arrangements have been developed to explain how and where this
system should be implemented in groundwater management.
Forbidden development zone (FDZ) and restricted development zone (RDZ)
China has also developed another groundwater zoning system: RDZs and FDZs.
FDZs and RDZs are required to be formulated and approved by the provincial government. Normally, the WAD has the main responsibility to formulate and implement
the zoning system, supported by the land and resources department and/or the urban
and rural construction department.
In an FDZ, new development activities will not be permitted, and existing abstraction facilities will be closed or demolished; in an RDZ, the abstraction volumes
of the existing facilities will be reduced. In Xinjiang, suitable development zones
are encouraged, particularly in saline areas resulting from overly high groundwater
levels; RDZs are implemented to control abstraction and balance development and
recharge needs; overdraft zones are required to formulate and implement targets to
reduce groundwater development and to devise adaptive measures for development
volume, well locations, and abstraction aquifers every year; and FDZs are employed
to prevent new development and to formulate closure and replacement programs for
existing developments.
Since the late 1990s, 19 of the 24 provinces experiencing groundwater overdraft
have formulated and issued groundwater overdraft areas, 13 of which have issued
FDZs and RDZs. A few provinces have implemented countermeasures to control
overdraft, such as Jiangsu and Shanghai.
4
In July 2012, the MWR issued the Technical Guideline for Groundwater Overdraft
Zone Assessment to investigate the nationwide groundwater overdraft and to clarify
and reissue FDZs and RDZs (MWR 2012). The guideline suggests that the following
areas should be categorized as FDZs in overdraft regions: (1) areas covered by urban
water supply networks with adequate capacity; (2) areas with other replaceable water
sources; (3) areas with serious ecological and environmental or geological problems;
(4) national key infrastructure protection zones, including high-speed railways, and
important cultural protection zones; and (5) other areas where development needs to
be forbidden. Furthermore, besides the FDZ, all other areas in the overdraft region
should be categorized as RDZs.
By the end of 2017, according to the National Groundwater Use and Protection
Plan, 20 out of 21 provinces with existing groundwater overdraft zones had issued
the scope of FDZs and RDZs determined by the provincial government and reported
the control plan to the MWR. Additionally, 13 provinces had formulated annual
control plans for overdraft zones, and 8,501 wells were closed in 18 provinces, with
4 https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/20120424/040111901823.shtml.
8 Groundwater Management
1.28 million km
2 in the plain area; the protection zone is 6.35 million km
2 , with
5.88 million km
2 located in the mountainous area and 0.47 million km
2 in the plain
area; and the reserve zone is 1.36 million km
2 , with 0.24 million km
2 located in the
mountainous area and 1.12 million km
2 in the plain area (Tang et al. 2012).
Although the groundwater function zone structure has been formulated, to date
no management arrangements have been developed to explain how and where this
system should be implemented in groundwater management.
Forbidden development zone (FDZ) and restricted development zone (RDZ)
China has also developed another groundwater zoning system: RDZs and FDZs.
FDZs and RDZs are required to be formulated and approved by the provincial government. Normally, the WAD has the main responsibility to formulate and implement
the zoning system, supported by the land and resources department and/or the urban
and rural construction department.
In an FDZ, new development activities will not be permitted, and existing abstraction facilities will be closed or demolished; in an RDZ, the abstraction volumes
of the existing facilities will be reduced. In Xinjiang, suitable development zones
are encouraged, particularly in saline areas resulting from overly high groundwater
levels; RDZs are implemented to control abstraction and balance development and
recharge needs; overdraft zones are required to formulate and implement targets to
reduce groundwater development and to devise adaptive measures for development
volume, well locations, and abstraction aquifers every year; and FDZs are employed
to prevent new development and to formulate closure and replacement programs for
existing developments.
Since the late 1990s, 19 of the 24 provinces experiencing groundwater overdraft
have formulated and issued groundwater overdraft areas, 13 of which have issued
FDZs and RDZs. A few provinces have implemented countermeasures to control
overdraft, such as Jiangsu and Shanghai.
4
In July 2012, the MWR issued the Technical Guideline for Groundwater Overdraft
Zone Assessment to investigate the nationwide groundwater overdraft and to clarify
and reissue FDZs and RDZs (MWR 2012). The guideline suggests that the following
areas should be categorized as FDZs in overdraft regions: (1) areas covered by urban
water supply networks with adequate capacity; (2) areas with other replaceable water
sources; (3) areas with serious ecological and environmental or geological problems;
(4) national key infrastructure protection zones, including high-speed railways, and
important cultural protection zones; and (5) other areas where development needs to
be forbidden. Furthermore, besides the FDZ, all other areas in the overdraft region
should be categorized as RDZs.
By the end of 2017, according to the National Groundwater Use and Protection
Plan, 20 out of 21 provinces with existing groundwater overdraft zones had issued
the scope of FDZs and RDZs determined by the provincial government and reported
the control plan to the MWR. Additionally, 13 provinces had formulated annual
control plans for overdraft zones, and 8,501 wells were closed in 18 provinces, with
4 https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/20120424/040111901823.shtml.