Both the demand for agricultural irrigation and the level of water-saving technology in water-scarce regions have met food demand with technological progress and economic growth. There are differences in irrigation water demand drivers in regions with different levels of irrigated agricultural development. However, the relationship between related drivers in response to regional irrigation water demand is not fully understood. This study quantified the driving influence of six indicators, including technological progress, planting structure, water conservation management, economic development, planting scale, and consumption intensity, on agricultural irrigation water demand in JC (Jinchang) and WW (Wuwei), two cities in the Shiyang River Basin, from 2011 to 2020. The results shows that economic development is the main driver of the increase in irrigation water demand, with 29% and 43% driving contributions in JC and WW, respectively. Consumption intensity contributes the most to the decrease in irrigation water demand, with 31% and 23% of driving contribution in JC and WW, respectively. Cropping size has a greater positive drive on irrigation water demand in non-agricultural areas relative to agricultural areas. Planting structure has a more pronounced negative drive on irrigation water demand in agricultural areas relative to non-agricultural areas. In particular, relative to irrigated areas, the proportion of water-saving irrigated areas to the sown areas has a greater impact on changes in irrigation water demand, with a significant rebound effect when it exceeds 80%, so that blindly expanding water-saving irrigated areas will drive an increase in irrigation water demand. The results of this study can provide useful suggestions for agricultural water management in water-scarce areas with different levels of water-saving irrigation development, and realize the sustainable development of agriculture in water-scarce areas.

Workover operations significantly impact the service life and gas production capacity of coalbed methane (CBM) wells and are crucial for optimizing resource exploitation. To investigate workover operations’ impact on coal seam reservoirs, the authors designed a series of experiments and obtained the following results: (1) The workover operation induced a phase transition in the solid-liquid composition produced by the CBM well, indicating changes in the coal reservoir’s internal structure. (2) During the stable production stage before and after the workover, the proportion of Na⁺, Cl⁻, Ca²⁺, and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in the water samples showed a downward trend as a whole, while the HCO₃⁻; after the workover, the Na⁺, Cl⁻, Ca²⁺, and TDS all increased suddenly, while the HCO₃⁻ decreased. (3) While inorganic minerals predominated in the precipitation material during the stable production stage pre-workover, their proportion decreased post-workover, with a noticeable shift in their qualitative composition. (4) It is an indisputable fact that workover operations cause physical and chemical damage to coal seam reservoirs. During workover operation, how to avoid damage and conduct benign reconstruction to the reservoir will be the direction of our future efforts. The experimental results provide valuable insights that can guide the optimization of CBM workover operations and inform the strategic planning of subsequent drainage activities.