Tu et al. (2026) Toward coordinated water allocation in urban agglomerations under joint supply-demand uncertainty: A distributionally robust bi-level multi-objective framework

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrology
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-07-22
• Authors: Yan Tu, Qian Li, Yiqian Ding, Yongzheng Lu, Benjamin Lev
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.136084

Research Groups

• Shandong University of Science and Technology (SDUST)
• Institute of Hydrology and Water Resources (IHWR), SDUST
• Department of Civil Engineering, SDUST

Short Summary

This study develops a distributionally robust bi-level multi-objective water allocation framework to facilitate coordination in urban agglomerations under joint supply-demand uncertainty. The framework integrates Wasserstein-based distributional robustness and lexicographic priorities to balance economic cost, environmental load, equity, and systemic coordination.

Objective

• Investigate the effectiveness of a distributionally robust bi-level multi-objective water allocation framework for coordinating water resources in urban agglomerations under joint supply-demand uncertainty.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Shandong Peninsula urban agglomeration (China)
• Temporal Scale: Long-term planning horizon (annual to decadal)

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Wasserstein-based distributionally robust bi-level multi-objective model, single-level reformulation of the original bi-level model
• Data sources: Historical climate data, water supply-demand patterns, economic indicators

Main Results

• The distributionally robust bi-level model reduces maximum city shortage rates and strengthens protection of living and ecological water compared to a single-level model.
• Increasing conservatism parameter α raises compromise cost but reduces Gini coefficient.
• Under joint supply-demand stress, the DRBMWA solution maintains sectoral shortage levels within a more controllable range.

Contributions

• Original value lies in integrating Wasserstein-based distributional robustness with lexicographic priorities to balance multiple objectives and address uncertainty in water allocation.
• The study provides insights for annual quota setting, transfer planning, sectoral allocation, and contingency preparation under uncertain water availability.

Funding

• National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) - Project Code: 51779027
• Shandong Provincial Key Research and Development Program - Project Code: 2019GSF12104

Citation

@article{Tu2026Toward,
  author = {Tu, Yan and Li, Qian and Ding, Yiqian and Lu, Yongzheng and Lev, Benjamin},
  title = {Toward coordinated water allocation in urban agglomerations under joint supply-demand uncertainty: A distributionally robust bi-level multi-objective framework},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.136084},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.136084}
}