A Supply-Chain Assessment of Water Resource Allocation in China’s National Water Network and Water-Diversion Projects

Yunlei She; Qi Zhou; Kai Duan; Yuanzhen Li; Liping Wang; Ranran Wang; Guohua He; Yong Zhao; Shen Qu

doi:10.1016/j.eng.2026.05.018

Engineering ›› :202605018 DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2026.05.018

research-article

A Supply-Chain Assessment of Water Resource Allocation in China’s National Water Network and Water-Diversion Projects

Yunlei She ^a^,^b^,^c
, Qi Zhou ^a^,^b^,^c
, Kai Duan ^d
, Yuanzhen Li ^e
, Liping Wang ^f
, Ranran Wang ^g
, Guohua He ^h
, Yong Zhao ^h
, Shen Qu ^a^,^b^,^c^,^*

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Abstract

China’s national water network (NWN) aims to address water scarcity and uneven water distribution. However, existing studies on water-diversion projects (WDPs), primarily at the basin and provincial levels, often oversimplify benefit calculations by ignoring the complex topology of water-transfer projects and their interactions with inter-regional supply-chain networks. In this article, we collect detailed data on 76 completed WDPs and 11 WDPs under construction in China as of 2022. Using a multiagent complex network model coupled with data for water resources, water use, and the NWN, we simulate losses from water scarcity before and after the implementation of the NWN and various WDPs at different times and under different water resource conditions, considering the reduction in losses from water scarcity as a supply-chain benefit. We find that, after integrating the NWN with inter-city supply chains in China, regions with severe water scarcity and large amounts of diverted water, such as Shanghai, Lanzhou, Zhengzhou, Taiyuan, and Karamay, experience high benefits. Conversely, cities such as Fushun and Jiamusi, which serve as source cities for multiple WDPs, experience losses. By 2030, the supply-chain-wide economic benefits of the NWN will increase from the 2010–2022 average of 153.2 billion CNY to 185.9 (156.6–206.2) billion CNY. Shanghai and Zhengzhou will see an increase of over 5 billion CNY, while Tianjin, Xianyang, and Beijing will see increases above 1 billion CNY. In total, 70% of completed WDPs have an investment payback period shorter than the average payback period of the NWN. On average, 25% of the benefits spill over to areas beyond the receiving regions. The 11 under-construction WDPs are expected to yield total benefits of 6 billion CNY by 2025 and 10 billion CNY by 2030. Our findings suggest ways to improve NWN construction and implementation and adjust water resource management policies in receiving areas.

Keywords

National water network / Water-diversion projects / Supply-chain assessment / Water scarcity losses / Agent-based model

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Yunlei She, Qi Zhou, Kai Duan, Yuanzhen Li, Liping Wang, Ranran Wang, Guohua He, Yong Zhao, Shen Qu. A Supply-Chain Assessment of Water Resource Allocation in China’s National Water Network and Water-Diversion Projects. Engineering 202605018 DOI:10.1016/j.eng.2026.05.018

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