ABSTRACT
Hu, W.W., 2019. Impacts of human activities in the Hanjiang River Basin, China. In: Yu, T.-s. (ed.), Environmental Sustainability: Water Resources Integrated Management and the Development of Coastal Environments. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 96, pp.68 –75. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.
The eastern part of China has a large number of rivers. Humans have a long history of development of rivers, and human activities have a strong impact on rivers. The major impacts are the construction of reservoir dams and river sand excavation. In this study, the Hanjiang River located in the southeast of China's Guangdong Province was chosen as a representative site to study the effects of dams and sand mining on rivers. For dams, the main research is on the impact of dams on the river flow and sediment processes. A comparative analysis of long-term sequence hydrological data before and after the dam construction at the Chaoan Hydrometric Station indicates that dams have a significant effect on sediment reduction. Based on the analysis of the annual average water level data of the long-term sequence at the Liuhuang hydrological station, the multi-year average water level in the middle river decreased by 1.91 m mainly because of the sand mining. The results of the studies on river sand mining have shown that excessive sand mining caused serious downcuts and water level drop in the middle and lower Hanjiang River, especially in the lower river. Dams and river sand mining will change the water and sand balance of the river, affecting the stability of the river course and river regime. These results can be used as a reference for scientific and rational water conservancy project construction, ecological restoration and protection, rational development, and management decisions for rivers in eastern China.
