This information upgrade integrates mature digital twin modules from the Qin and Han canals, as well as the “forecast, pre-simulation, early warning, and contingency plan” system from the Hanyan Canal. In the end, it establishes a unified irrigation district management and control platform, enabling a leap from “experience-based decision-making” to “data-driven decision-making.” 

　　Once the platform is completed, artificial intelligence (AI) can be used for functions such as supply-demand analysis and dispatch simulation. “By inputting meteorological and other data, the model can automatically simulate the optimal gate adjustment plan, accurate to the hour,” Bao said. In one pilot test, the system precisely coordinated headgate flows, allowing nearly 10,000 mu of corn to receive timely irrigation during the jointing stage.

　　“Before, water releases depended on the seasoned judgment of veteran workers. Now, with a tap on a big screen, the model starts running and the sluice gates move on their own — saving water and improving efficiency.”

　　The completion of integrated, district-wide digital infrastructure marks a key step in the Qingtongxia Irrigation Area’s transition from “water management” to “smart water management.”

　　According to statistics, since the system overhaul began in 1998, the volume of water diverted from the Yellow River by the Qingtongxia Irrigation Area has dropped from 6.64 billion cubic meters to 3.206 billion cubic meters. Even without any reduction in irrigated area, this has strongly supported urbanization and ecological water use.

　　After the latest modernization project is completed, the district’s high-efficiency water-saving irrigation rate is expected to reach 44 percent, saving 53.79 million cubic meters of water annually and boosting grain output from an estimated 1.92 million tons to 2.24 million tons.