Mapping potential water risks in China`s Wei River
The Wei River in west-central China is not just the largest tributary of the Yellow River, but it has also been a critical water source for communities for thousands of years. To manage this important resource, water authorities in China just announced that they plan to invest 6 billion yuan - more than US$950 million - this year to fight floods and pollution in the Wei.
This investment in water management comes after flooding on the Wei killed dozens of people and forced tens of thousands from their homes in the fall of 2011. On top of these terrible human costs come severe economic impacts. According to some estimates, the 2011 flooding cost China more than 6 billion U.S. dollars.
Events like the 2011 China floods and the recent devastating flooding in Thailand are putting water risk front-and-center in the minds of businesses, investors, and governments worldwide. This awareness is driving greater demand for better information to understand how and where these water risks might appear. Aqueduct’s water risk mapping tool brings together a myriad of data about water quality, quantity, and other indicators to provide that better information.
We used Aqueduct’s maps of the Yellow River basin— which include the Wei River— to uncover some of the trends and data points that illuminate the water quantity risks facing the region. Using Aqueduct’s online mapping tool, we generated the map below, which combines data on four different indicators of water scarcity and flood risk to show an overall map of relative water quantity risks along the Wei River. The red dots on the map show five cities in the Wei watershed – Baoji, Xi’an, Weinan, Xianyang, and Tianshui.
The orange and red coloring of the Wei River region show areas exposed to relatively high potential risks around water quantity – a conclusion supported by the recent flooding and the Chinese government’s investments in the region. Water risk maps such as this one show how the right data can come together to spotlight the places where companies and public officials may need to direct their attention.
To create this water risk map, we looked at four individual risk indicator maps that underlie it: Baseline water stress, seasonal variability, inter-annual variability, and flood frequency.
You can scroll through those maps in the window below to learn more about how they were created, or visit the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas online to recreate the maps yourself.
Maps like these are an important first step towards understanding and managing water risk, but they do not tell the whole story. To truly understand the risks a company faces, you would need to find out more about the specific water needs of the business, as well as how other companies, communities, and government agencies manage their shared water resources and mitigate those risks. Investments in improved water infrastructure like the ones planned by the Chinese government in the Wei River region can mitigate water risks in the places they emerge most frequently. Aqueduct’s water risk maps can help companies, investors, and governments target and plan the investments and improvements that can make the risky world of water a little safer.
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