06,02,2026 121 views
With the increasing awareness of protecting biodiversity, people have begun to pay attention to the role of natural water bodies in the ecological environment, and there is a growing demand for restoring the natural ecological functions of water systems.
Human beings cannot deprive aquatic organisms of their right to survive for their own needs, so water bodies not only need to be clean and beautiful, but also vibrant, that is, returning to nature to restore the ecosystem of water bodies has become the main content of water system management in developed countries. Various countries have destroyed reservoirs, dams, and cement riverbeds to restore the natural mud riverbed of rivers, as loaches also have their right to survive. Here is an example from Japan.
*In the stage, flood control construction is the main focus, mainly to prevent water disasters (solve the problem of excessive water), abbreviated as flood control water conservancy. Human society demands that development first ensure its own safety, especially after humans began to settle around water, flood control construction became a top priority. The general measures include embankments, city walls, urban drainage systems, etc., and with the improvement of social and economic levels, flood control standards should also continue to rise. Modern metropolises generally have to withstand the standard of a once-in-a-century flood.
The second stage focuses on water supply construction, mainly to meet the demand for water. All aspects of life, production, and ecological landscaping are considered to solve the problem of water scarcity, which can be referred to as resource water conservancy.
After the economic development reaches a certain level, the contradiction between water supply and demand becomes increasingly prominent, which requires the construction of various water supply systems such as water diversion and distribution to become an important part of water conservancy construction. The more developed the economy, the higher the demand for water supply capacity and guarantee rate.
In the third stage, water resource protection is the main focus, mainly solving the problem of water pollution (dirty water) and ensuring the quality of water supply, which can be referred to as environmental water conservancy.
With the development of the economy and the increase in water consumption, the amount of pollution will inevitably increase. Water pollution will cause significant social problems. Therefore, water resource protection, improvement of water quality, and other water environment construction will become the main issues in water conservancy construction.
In the fourth stage, landscape construction is the main focus, addressing high-level human spiritual needs and providing opportunities for people to visit and appreciate, achieving an artificial natural state of water beauty, which can be referred to as landscape water conservancy.
With the improvement of human production level and the development of tourism industry, people have put forward higher requirements for the landscape around water bodies. Therefore, water conservancy construction, which focuses on beautifying water spaces and providing people with good rest, entertainment, and viewing landscapes, has been developed in the surrounding areas of cities.
In the fifth stage, ecological restoration is the main focus, which solves not the problem of human needs, but the improvement of the natural ecosystem. It aims to rebuild (restore, restore, and repair) the vibrant aquatic ecosystem, allowing fish, loaches, and fresh grass to enjoy their right to live and achieve the natural state of water life, which can be referred to as ecological water conservancy.
China is currently in the initial stage of modernizing its water conservancy system. The work in the first stage (flood control and water conservancy) has been done but not very well. The landscape water conservancy in the fourth stage has begun to rise in some big cities, while the awareness of ecological water system restoration and construction in the fifth stage is basically lacking, and even lacks foundation. The most common stage is the transition from the second stage to the third stage, which is mainly focused on water supply construction to meet the demand for water and solve the problem of water shortage, and to the environmental water conservancy that focuses on water resource protection and mainly solves the problem of water pollution (dirty water).
