Environmental Management For Source Water Protection In Plain River Network, China: Theory, Methods And Practice

Most Chinese cities in the process of urbanization are going through drinking water crisis, and environmental management for source water protection is regarded as the first barrier to keep drinking water safe. Notwithstanding abundant water resources, the conflict between rapid economic development and source water protection is obvious in plain river network. The difficult status of source water area due to poor water quality has been the key limiting factor affecting regional ecological safety and sustainable development.An interdisciplinary exploration of the intersection between environmental science and natural resource science is encouraged. Revolved around two points (source water protection and local community development), both theoretical and practical aspects related to environmental managment are discussed. On the basis of review and analysis of the source water area protection, the theory and methods of environmental management for source water protection in plain river network are developed. Through a clear idea of current situation and problem of source water areas in Shanghai, the evidence and mechanism of water quality variance in Upper Huangpu River Watershed are discussed, and an environment management framework is rebuilt.The research reviews the history and trends of drinking water supply and source water protection, discusses correlative concepts of source water and watershed, and analyzes regional characteristics of plain river network and source water problems. The concept extension and concept intension of environmental management for source water protection in plain river network are defined. The subject and object, principles and means, directions and emphases are discussed. Circle's Protection, Integrated Water Resources Management, Complex System, Environmental Justice are applied to environmental management for source water protection in plain river network as main theories. The circles of protection area and land use, the integration of four dimensions (time, space, multidiscipline and stakeholder), the vulnerability of source water system and social-economic system, and the equality of three areas (source water area, serving area and upper stream area) are defined as the kernel of those theories. The Plan, control and assistant technologies in environment management are pointed out. The environmental management for source water protection in plain river network is suggested to follow a framework composed of five steps: scoping, investigation and evaluation, target setting, management solutions, adaptive management, and three key methods: vulnerability evaluation method based on multitarget model, circle's protection method based on land use control and protection area delineation, cooperative protection method based on joint management and stakeholder involvement.The research demonstrates the water resources situation, source water supplies and drinking water crisis in Shanghai, China. Based on the data in seventeen years, the spatial variation and periodic evolvement of water quality in Upper Huangpu River Watershed are analyzed. The study results show that the water environment in Upper Huangpu River Watershed is influenced by regional social-economic factors, such as regional development and water quality of upper reaches, urbanization and population scale, local economic level and point pollution, land use and non-point pollution. According to the results of vulnerability evaluation, the environmentmanagement system of Upper Huangpu River Watershed is built up, management targets are set, and a sustainable development way to source water protection is indicated. Finally, stakeholder involvement model, cooperative approach, and circle's protection method are applied to source water area protection in Upper Huangpu River Watershed.