Groundwater management zones and their groundwater level thresholds in the Tongliao Plain

The West Liao River (WLR) Basin located in Inner Mongolia, is an important food production area in China. In recent years, the problem of groundwater over-exploitation has become increasingly prominent in the Basin due to the expansion of agriculture. This paper developed adaptive management initiatives of the local groundwater resources using Tongliao, located in the east part of the WLR Basin, as a case study. Groundwater management zones were divided based on hydrogeology, precipitation, land use, the groundwater over-exploitation areas, groundwater depth, and the administrative units (Banners/Counties/Districts). The Tongliao Basin was divided into 21 management zones. Subsequently, assessment rules for determining groundwater level thresholds in each groundwater management zone were developed based on groundwater observation conditions and the current groundwater depth. Based on the assessment rules, in 2020 the management threshold of groundwater level for each zone were determined. The results provided a scientific basis for the ‘Water Availability Based Local Development Initiative’ in the Tongliao Plain.