A Review of China’s Water Security Issues: Insights from the Special Issue of China Water Forum 2024

1. Introduction

Affected by global climate change and rapid socio-economic development, China, along with many other countries worldwide, faces a series of water security issues, such as water shortages, flood disasters, and water-related ecological and environmental problems. To address these challenges, China has adopted a range of measures, including a most stringent water resource management system, the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, and the River Chief System. Nevertheless, due to the complexity of water security issues, effective management is difficult to achieve in the short term, and interdisciplinary research provides important support.

To facilitate a better understanding of China’s water security issues, a series of academic exchanges have been organized by us, including the well-known “China Water Forum,” which focuses on discussing solutions to China’s water challenges; the “Water Science Development Forum,” which aims to promote the multidisciplinary integration of water science with other relevant disciplines in addressing China’s water issues; and the “Water Science Lectures,” an open, shared, and non-profit public lecture series.

The Editorial Department of the Water Journal cooperates with the “China Water Forum”, the “Water Science Development Forum”, and the “Water Science Lectures” to establish a series of Special Issues. At present, at least one Special Issue is planned each year. The Special Issue established in 2024, “China Water Forum 2024”, has concluded, and the new Special Issue for 2025, namely “China Water Forum 2025”, has commenced. A total of eight papers were accepted for the Special Issue “China Water Forum 2024.” Based on the papers published in this Special Issue, we summarize China’s water security status and issues to facilitate readers’ understanding of the relevant research progress.

Four themes were proposed in “China Water Forum 2024”:

(1)

Climate change and hydrology.

(2)

Water problems and human–water relationship control.

(3)

Water environment and ecology.

(4)

Water information technology and modeling.

2. Summary of Water Security Issues in China Based on Special Issue Publications

The eight published papers in this Special Issue examine China’s water issues from different perspectives. They are divided into three categories based on their research themes: Category A, “Water Resource Management and Integrated Governance” (Contributions 1–3); Category B, “Rivers and Lakes Water Ecology and Water Pollution” (Contributions 4–6); and Category C, “Irrigation Technology and Water Use Efficiency” (Contributions 7,8).

For Category A, “Water Resource Management And Integrated Governance”, Contribution (1) employs a non-radial directional distance function (NDDF) model to quantitatively assess provincial water saving and carbon reduction performance during 2000–2021, measures synergistic effects, and examines the spatiotemporal evolution of key indicators. The results show that synergistic performance consistently surpassed standalone measures, with most regions demonstrating accelerating synergistic enhancement over time. Contribution (2) uses the Hurst coefficient, Mann–Kendall nonparametric test, streamflow pattern indices, and sample entropy (SampEn) analyses to investigate the streamflow pattern of the Yangtze River basin at annual, monthly, and daily timepoints. The results reveal that streamflow complexity increases from upstream to downstream along the main reach, and the monthly streamflow shows significant trends in the dry and wet seasons. Contribution (3) analyzes the impact of climate change and human activities on the runoff of the Ganjiang River Basin using various models with different spatiotemporal scales and complexities. The results indicate that climate change is the main driving factor leading to runoff variation in the Ganjiang River Basin, accounting for 60.07% to 82.88% of the runoff change. Therefore, future studies should focus on developing more integrated and adaptive models to better understand the complex interactions between climate change, human activities, and water resource management, and explore innovative strategies for enhancing water security and sustainability.

For Category B, “Rivers and Lakes Water Ecology and Water Pollution”, Contribution (4) formulates three types of eco-recycled concrete (ERC) by integrating shell-derived biochar with recycled aggregates and evaluates their efficacy in treating polluted water with heavy metals. Their results show that biochar addition significantly enhances the continuous porosity and water permeability of the concrete and substantially improves its adsorption capacity of heavy metals. Contribution (5) conducts a controlled laboratory experiment and combines it with long-term field monitoring to determine the main hydrobiogeochemical processes of polygenic multipollutants and their secondary pollutants in groundwater. The results indicate that the redox environment and the gradient change in pH are the most critical controlling factors for the evolution of pollutants. Contribution (6) systematically reviews 1141 articles on seasonal frozen lakes from 1991 to 2021, discussing the seasonal variations and control conditions of ice-covered lakes. The review shows that the ice-cover period is shortening, lake evaporation is increasing, and planktonic organisms are responding to global climate change with earlier spring blooming.

For Category C, “Irrigation Technology and Water Use Efficiency”, Contribution (7) investigates the distribution and accumulation of clogging substances within drip irrigation emitters under three water conditions (saline water, Yellow River water, and a mixture of both). The results show that the use of blended water can effectively alleviate clogging and enhance drip irrigation efficiency. Contribution (8) proposes a network structure, the SE-Attention-Residual-Unet (SE-ResUnet), for water extraction tasks in the Yellow River Basin. The results demonstrate that the strategy combining an attention mechanism and a weighted loss function significantly improves the effectiveness of neural network models in water extraction tasks.

3. Discussion and Suggestions

According to the aforementioned research findings and current progress in the field, we further summarize the water security issues in China as follows:

(I) The uneven spatiotemporal distribution of water resources, driven by multiple factors, is a fundamental cause of water security challenges. From a climatic perspective, most regions of China are influenced by the monsoon climate, with precipitation primarily concentrated in summer and autumn, while relatively low levels in winter and spring create temporal imbalances in water availability. Furthermore, variability in the onset and retreat of the summer monsoon leads to substantial interannual and regional differences in precipitation, further intensifying the uneven spatiotemporal distribution of water resources. From a geographical perspective, China’s vast territory and complex topography, combined with pronounced gradients in distance from the sea, result in marked regional disparities in precipitation and runoff. In general, water resources exhibit the pattern of “more in the east and less in the west, more in the south and less in the north” [1]. The southern regions are predominantly humid or semi-humid, with abundant rainfall, whereas the northern regions are mainly semi-arid or arid, with limited precipitation. In addition, anthropogenic influences cannot be ignored. Population growth and industrial–agricultural development have continuously increased water demand, while water waste and pollution have worsened, further aggravating the imbalance in water resource distribution [2].

To address the uneven spatiotemporal distribution of water resources, a comprehensive and coordinated strategy is essential. On the one hand, cross-basin water diversion projects, such as the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, can effectively transfer water from resource-abundant regions to water-deficient areas, thereby mitigating chronic water shortages in northern China. Concurrently, it is vital to strengthen water resource assessment and planning, enhance reservoir operation to regulate runoff and seasonal fluctuations, improve water supply reliability during dry periods, and minimize water losses during flood seasons. On the other hand, greater emphasis should be placed on raising public awareness of water conservation and further strengthening the rigid water resource constraint index system to ensure sustainable management and efficient utilization.

(II) China continues to face challenges related to aquatic ecological degradation and water pollution. While rapid industrialization and urbanization have driven substantial economic growth, they have simultaneously imposed severe pressures on aquatic ecosystems. For example, in certain regions of China, the overexploitation of water resources—such as groundwater extraction in the North China Plain—has altered the natural regulatory functions of aquatic systems. In addition, the discharge of industrial wastewater, agricultural non-point source pollution, and untreated domestic sewage persists in some areas, leading to eutrophication and severe river pollution. These challenges not only undermine ecological stability but also pose considerable risks to public health and the long-term sustainability of economic development.

To mitigate aquatic ecological degradation and water pollution, a comprehensive strategy integrating systemic governance, source control, and ecological restoration is essential. Current priorities in water resource protection and environmental governance include strengthening river rehabilitation, restoring the natural morphology of rivers, and enhancing their water conveyance capacity [3]. Furthermore, ecological restoration initiatives—such as afforestation and wetland rehabilitation—should be advanced to improve the self-purification capacity of aquatic systems. Equally important is the comprehensive regulation and control of pollution sources across multiple sectors. In the industrial sector, emission standards should be upgraded, clean production practices and circular economy models promoted, and the discharge of toxic and hazardous substances strictly controlled. In agriculture, emphasis should be placed on adopting ecological farming methods, applying precision fertilization and pesticide technologies, and improving the utilization of livestock and poultry waste to effectively reduce non-point source pollution. In urban areas, efforts should focus on strengthening sewage collection systems, improving the treatment efficiency of wastewater treatment plants—particularly regarding nitrogen and phosphorus removal—and increasing the reuse of reclaimed water. At the same time, it is imperative to strengthen the water environment monitoring network [4].

(III) The contradiction between water resource supply and demand remains prominent. The uneven spatial and temporal distribution of water resources, combined with growing demand driven by economic and social development, has intensified this imbalance [5]. Water resources in the Yangtze River Basin and southern regions account for more than 80% of the national total, whereas the northern region possesses less than 20% but supports over 60% of the national population and cultivated land. This disparity has led to persistent water scarcity in northern China. With the accelerating processes of urbanization and industrialization, the contradiction between water supply and demand has become increasingly acute.

Under the framework of the water management principle of “prioritizing water conservation, achieving spatial balance, pursuing systematic governance, and advancing with dual efforts,” the key to addressing China’s supply–demand contradictions and safeguarding water security lies in the implementation of systematic and comprehensive measures [6]. Enhancing the efficiency of water resource utilization is particularly crucial in agriculture, industry, and urban domestic sectors [7]. In agriculture, the large-scale adoption of efficient irrigation technologies such as drip and sprinkler systems, adjustment of cropping structures, selection of drought-resistant crops, and implementation of precision irrigation management are essential. In industry, water conservation requires technological upgrading, increased reuse rates of water resources, and the promotion of water-efficient industries. In urban areas, efforts should focus on the widespread use of water-saving appliances, reduction in pipeline leakage, promotion of reclaimed water reuse technologies, and strengthening of the public awareness of water conservation. Equally important is the optimization of water resource allocation and the rational layout of water supply systems. Within the context of inter-basin water transfers, the construction and management of projects such as the South-to-North Water Diversion Project should be optimized to meet supply demands while carefully considering ecological impacts. Strengthening integrated river basin management is also indispensable, ensuring coordinated regulation of water volume, water quality, and aquatic ecosystems across regions [8]. By improving water-use efficiency, optimizing allocation, protecting aquatic ecosystems, advancing institutional reforms, and fostering scientific and technological innovation, sustainable water resource management can be achieved, thereby providing a strong safeguard for China’s long-term economic and social development.