Improvement of WEAP model considering regional and industrial water distribution priority and its application

Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area urban agglomeration (GBA). Existing Water Evaluation and Planning System (WEAP) lacks consideration of regional and industrial water distribution priority. This study proposes an improved WEAP model by integrating regional and industrial water distribution priority determined by water supply safety. The logistic curve model was introduced for water supply safety evaluation. The improved WEAP model was applied to the water resources allocation of GBA in the year of 2019 and 2030, and the effects of water allocation schemes with different regional and industrial water distribution priorities were compared. The results indicate that the water supply safety of each city in the GBA varies with region and industry, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan have lower degree of domestic and industrial water supply safety. River and reservoir connections are essential to the water supply safety of GBA. The water demands of Shenzhen and Dongguan cannot be satisfied during dry period in 2019, while perfectly satisfied during the dry period in 2030 due to the operation of water transfer projects. The improved WEAP model obtained more reasonable water allocation results, improving the water satisfaction rates of regions with low water supply safety. The research demonstrates the advantage of the improved WEAP model considering regional and industries priority, enhancing the applicability of the WEAP model.