Demand for hydropower is increasing, yet the water footprints (WFs) of reservoirs and hydropower, and their contributions to water scarcity, are poorly understood. Here, we calculate reservoir WFs (freshwater that evaporates from reservoirs) and hydropower WFs (the WF of hydroelectricity) in China based on data from 875 representative reservoirs (209 with power plants). In 2010, the reservoir WF totaled 27.9 × 109 m3 (Gm3), or 22% of China’s total water consumption. Ignoring the reservoir WF seriously underestimates human water appropriation. The reservoir WF associated with industrial, domestic and agricultural WFs caused water scarcity in 6 of the 10 major Chinese river basins from 2 to 12 months annually. The hydropower WF was 6.6 Gm3 yr−1 or 3.6 m3 of water to produce a GJ (109 J) of electricity. Hydropower is a water intensive energy carrier. As a response to global climate change, the Chinese government has promoted a further increase in hydropower energy by 70% by 2020 compared to 2012. This energy policy imposes pressure on available freshwater resources and increases water scarcity. The water-energy nexus requires strategic and coordinated implementations of hydropower development among geographical regions, as well as trade-off analysis between rising energy demand and water use sustainability.
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机译：对水力发电的需求正在增加，但是人们对水库和水力发电的水足迹（WFs）及其对缺水的贡献知之甚少。在这里，我们基于875个代表性水库（有电厂的209个）的数据计算了中国的水库WFs（从水库蒸发的淡水）和水电WFs（水电WF）。 2010年，水库WF总量为27.9×10 9 m 3 （Gm 3 ），占中国总用水量的22％。忽视水库的WF严重低估了人类对水的利用。与工业，家庭和农业自然基金会相关的水库自然基金会每年2至12个月导致中国10个主要流域中的6个缺水。水电WF为6.6 Gm 3 yr -1 或3.6 m 3 水产生GJ（10 9 J）。水电是耗水量大的能源载体。为应对全球气候变化，中国政府已推动到2020年将水电能源比2012年进一步增加70％。这一能源政策对可利用的淡水资源施加了压力，并加剧了水资源短缺。水能关系需要在地理区域之间进行战略性和协调性的水电开发，以及在不断增长的能源需求和用水可持续性之间进行权衡分析。
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