An Agricultural Interval Two-Stage Fuzzy Differential Water Price Model (ITS-DWPM) for Initial Water Rights Allocation in Hulin, China

Abstract

In recent years, China’s agricultural water consumption has been high, while water inefficiency has restricted the development of the economy. In this study, we developed an agricultural interval two-stage fuzzy differential water prices model (ITS-DWPM) by incorporating the techniques of two-stage programming (TP) and interval-parameter programming (IPP) based on the differential water price. The ITS-DWPM can link the associated economic penalty attributed to the violation of the preregulated water target and the total system benefit under limited data availabilities (expressed stochastic and interval values); meanwhile, inaccurate water quantity data and dynamic economic data would be resolved. The methodology tended to resolve the complexity of initial water rights allocation problems, incorporating the relevant sectors as well as the agricultural irrigation system construction involved in water management decision. Furthermore, the model takes into account the restrictions on water quantity and price. In addition, multiple decision results were calculated under different states of water shortage. The developed method is applied to initial water rights allocation and agricultural irrigation system construction. The results generated can assist decision makers not only in formulating water rights allocation strategies, but also in balancing the contradiction between economic objectives and water resources control indicators. In 2020, the irrigation water utilization coefficient of each agricultural irrigation area in Hulin City should reach 0.55. Hutou needs to increase its agricultural irrigation channels by at least 4.49%, Shitouhe by at least 4.03%, and Daxinancha by at least 4.49%.

Keywords

• initial water rights allocation
• differential agricultural water price
• water-saving adjustment
• interval two-stage programming