The Impact of the Construction of Sponge Cities on the Surface Runoff in Watersheds, China

In order to study the effect of the construction of the sponge cites on the process of urban water circulation in China, we analyzed the precipitation data from 756 stations across China between 1961 and 2011 and national land-use data in 2014. The spatial distribution characteristics of built-up area and amount of annual average runoff interception in sponge cities were explored in five different zonal scale levels. Assuming that the sponge cities have been built at the national-level construction land and the volume capture ratio of annual runoff is taken as 85%, the amount of annual average runoff interception in sponge cities is 988.58 × 108 m3 during 1961 to 2011 in China, where the annual precipitation is greater than or equal to 400 mm. The cities with more amount of annual average runoff interception are mostly distributed in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta. As to the Haihe River Basin, the annual average amount of surface water resources is 135.69 × 108 m3 between 2005 and 2014, and the amount of annual average runoff interception is 219.58 × 108 m3 from 1961 to 2011. The construction of sponge cities has the greatest impact on the surface water resources in the Haihe River Basin. Taking 80%–85% as the volume capture ratio of annual runoff in sponge cities is not reasonable, which may lead to the irrational exploitation and utilization of regional water and soil resources.