Water Resources Monitoring System Construction in Shanxi Province, China

Shanxi province is located in the middle reach of the Yellow River, which is also the important energy and chemical industry base of China. Water resources shortage and over exploitation of groundwater is serious in Shanxi Province. Therefore, Shanxi has promoted the construction of water resources monitoring system since 2010. The monitoring system consists of 262 water source areas, 865 water intake sites for municipal water supply, 115 irrigation areas, 43 river control sections, 259 sewage outlets, and 504 groundwater gauge points. All the monitoring datasets from the above points are integrated into a water resources management information system (MIS). Based on the MIS, a decision support system (DSS) is built for routine management and emergency water regulation. The DSS is divided into two levels. The top level, also named provincial level, can access all the data of the monitoring points and remote control nodes. It is a data storage center, and also a decision-making and command center. The bottom level, called municipal level, can only access the monitoring data of the points under its jurisdiction. The bottom level is also responsible for local water resources dispatch in the scope of authority. The MIS and DSS have greatly improved the scientific and informatization ability of water resources management, and the water shortage situation and the over exploitation of groundwater in Shanxi Province have been greatly alleviated by optimal scheduling based on the MIS and DSS. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.