Water Resources Use in the basin of the Lake Khanka

The article deals with investigation of the Lake Khanka water resources’ use. We have stated that the predominant development of agriculture determines the water resources use on both the Russian part and the Chinese part of the basin. We have assessed the irrigated land areas and water volumes used for this end, as well as economic activities’ impact of the lake water level. On the basis of statistical data, satellite images and published scientific articles we have assessed for the first time the irrigated lands’ dynamics in the Lake Khanka basin over the 1960–2015 period. Analysis of the official information and the expert-restored data on water withdrawal made it possible firstly to estimate the dynamics of water use for irrigation and establish the values of water consumption (irrevocable water losses) during irrigation in the Russian part of the lake basin for the same period. We have established that the source for irrigating rice crops in Russia is the lake itself. The use of Lake Khanka’s waters in China is possible only in low water years. The influence of water use on irrigation in the Russian part of the basin at the lake level for the entire period of rice cultivation was manifested only in its reduction, and to a very small extent. In high water years, the Lake Malaya Khanka acts as a reservoir for the flood waters of the Mulinghe River, which, if discharged into the Lake Khanka, can have an impact on the growth of the Lake Khanka level.