Abstract
Qigen Lake in Inner Mongolia of China suffers from shrinkage of water surface due to the overuse of groundwater. In this study, groundwater balance was calculated for 9 villages in Qigen Lake basin to find sustainable groundwater management. The result of calculation shows that groundwater level lowered by 1.0m/year in 2010. Efficiency of irrigation water use, which account for 99.4% of total water use, was also studied to prevent groundwater depletion and to maintain agricultural income of villagers. As a result, restriction of water consuming crops reduced groundwater depletion by 30%, however, caused reduction in income by 8%. On the contrary, lining of agricultural water supply channels, although it incurs construction cost, reduced groundwater depletion by 60% whereas income can be maintained.
