中国地下基础设施的生态影响与地下水保护

China has developed one of the world’s largest portfolios of deep underground infrastructure in support of hydropower, pumped storage, mining, and transportation. By 2024, the country had installed approximately 436 GW of hydropower capacity (1), including underground powerhouse complexes (2) and deep hydraulic tunnel systems (3). Beyond the energy sector, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway includes hundreds of kilometers of tunnels through some of China’s most hydrogeologically sensitive moun- tain environments (4, 5). Such excavations can substantially and persistently alter regional hydrogeology. To protect its groundwa- ter systems, China should implement systematic predictive models before construction, safeguards and limits for projects underway, and interventions to ensure long-term sustainability. …