Water Resources Management in North China Plain

Abstract

A conjunctive groundwater‐surface water planning model is presented. The optimization model maximizes the net revenue generated from the production of wheat, corn, and cotton over a one‐year planning horizon. The costs of production include distribution costs for Yellow River water, fertilizer, and nonlinear groundwater pumping costs. The decision variables of the model are the groundwater pumping schedules and the allocation of surface water, fertilizer, and land to the four drainage basins of the study area. Agricultural production functions are developed for the Yucheng County region of the North China Plain. The production functions relate yield per ha of wheat, corn, and cotton and the applied water and fertilizer. The groundwater hydraulic response equations are developed using the finite element method and the matrix exponential. The groundwater equations are imbedded as constraints in the planning model. Optimization results are presented for a range of hydrologic conditions. The results are compared with present allocation patterns in Yucheng County.