How to Develop Inter-Basin Water Transfer Networks: From the Perspective of Complex Network

Driven by water resources scarcity, Inter-Basin Water Transfer  (IBWT) projects have emerged and evolved, shaping our current water supply framework. As these IBWT unfolded, they gradually acquired network characteristics, giving rise to the IBWT network. What impact will the development of IBWT networks have on water supply patterns? Analyzing the spatial and temporal growth pattern of IBWT networks through the lens of complex network theory can help answer this question. In this study, we establish a framework for analyzing IBWT networks based on complex network theory. Within the framework, we analyze the spatial and temporal development characteristics of the IBWT network, quantifying its global properties across three dimensions: Efficiency, Elasticity, and Coordination. To measure the significance of individual nodes, six centrality indicators are employed. Lastly, the Infomap method is employed for network community detection. The results demonstrate that the CNA-based framework effectively captures the comprehensive development of the IBWT network, which has undergone six stages from inception to high-speed, close-range, and long-range Stages. IBWT network efficiency, elasticity, and coordination all show growth. The growth is most pronounced in 2013-2022, where Scaled global efficiency, Network efficiency, Average node connectivity, and Average Betweenness centrality metrics all grew by a factor of greater than 4. Importantly, the total percentage of centrality greater than 0.2 in the Huang-Huai-Hai-Chang Basin is 63.0%. The 125 IBWT projects in the past of the IBWT network detected 58 communities, and the subsequent future construction of 57 projects added only 12. Since the fourth phase, new IBWT network projects have tended to join existing communities.