2011 Volume 24 Issue 4 Pages 290-303
This study analyzed the relationship between infrastructure investment and water use and aqueous environments. First, we collected data on water use and pollutant discharge in each industry and constructed an input–output table that was used to analyze the influence of infrastructure construction on water resources and aqueous environments. Then, the influence of the infrastructure investment on water resources was evaluated using indicators, Such as the amount of water use and the pollutant discharge of chemical oxygen demand(COD) and ammonia(NH4). According to our analysis, the domestic product resulting from infrastructure investment is as large as urban household consumption and export demand, and has become a main force of economic development in China. In the agricultural sector, both the amount of water use and water pollutant discharge induced by infrastructure investment far exceeded that by any other industry. In addition, the water use induced by infrastructure investment in the steel-smelting sector and electricity and hot water production and supply sector was also high. The COD discharge by the paper and paper products sector was very high. The infrastructure investment induced a large discharge of NH4 in the chemicals sector, which includes chemical fertilizers. Therefore, increasing water use efficiency and decreasing water pollutant discharge in key sectors, such as agriculture and paper and paper products, will be increasingly important in the future.
