To achieve the transformation of water rights institution in China from the administrative management to the property rights institution, it is of high significance to discuss the principle of rights confirmation, institution connection, and change. In this paper, we present the process, result, experience, and problems of the authors’ involvement in water rights confirmation and registration in Delingha as the methods designer of water rights confirmation. The conclusions of this paper follow: (1) Equity must be the priority while considering the principles of water rights confirmation. Complying and verifying the results of historical water distribution, strengthening public participation, and selecting persuasive and scientific indicators are the main components that are embodied in the concept of equity. (2) Water rights confirmation is to recognize and revise the distribution result of the old institution. Macroscopically, based on the administrative upper limits set by the “Three Red Lines” and ecologically sustainable requirements, the dual-control method of “matching water use and the Three Red Lines” and “matching water consumption and available water resources” was used to control the total distribution of water rights. From a microscopic point of view, the water abstraction permit was the core indicator of water rights confirmation, after checking with other data. (3) The institutional logic, the responsibilities and roles of the government, and the intellection of water users have changed after the confirmation of water rights. Registration is the key to distinguishing water rights from the traditional administrative institution.

Spatial heterogeneity in economic benefits of water use provides crucial evidence for the evaluation of water diversion projects and the spatial equilibrium of water resource allocation. Using city-level data from 2017 on the sectoral water use and value added in 334 Chinese cities, we estimated the economic benefits of water use in the agricultural, industrial, and service sectors using the allocation coefficient method. We then revealed the spatial heterogeneity combining an exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) method. For the agricultural sector, the high economic benefit of water use regions are primarily concentrated on both sides of the “Hu Huanyong Line”; regions with high economic benefit of industrial water use are mainly found in the North China Plain, the middle and lower Huanghe River basin, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, Chongqing and Chengdu, and the economic benefit of service water use is higher in the north than in the south. ESDA provides significant evidence for the analysis of spatial heterogeneity with regard to the economic benefits of water use in China. Based on the fundamental distribution of water resources and the spatial heterogeneity in the economic benefits of water use, potential water diversion areas can be preliminarily identified. The Haihe River Basin in the North China Plain and some areas in the southeast coastal region are potential receiving areas, and the eastern regions of Southwest China with abundant water resources and lower elevations, along with the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are potential source areas. Further research about marginal benefits and water use costs, along with dynamic updates, is required for water resource allocation of China.

Spatial heterogeneity in economic benefits of water use provides crucial evidence for the evaluation of water diversion projects and the spatial equilibrium of water resource allocation. However, research focusing on the economic benefits of water use in major industries within Chinese cities remains insufficient. We collected water use and value added data of agriculture, industry, and service sectors of 334 Chinese cities in 2017, and used the benefit allocation coefficient method to calculated the economic benefit of water use in the three sectors. Then we analyzed spatial heterogeneity in the economic benefits of water use: for agricultural sector, the high economic benefit of water use regions are primarily concentrated on both sides surrounding of the “Hu Huanyong Line”; regions with high economic benefit of industrial water use are mainly found in the North China Plain, the middle and lower Huanghe River basin, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, Chongqing and Chengdu; and the economic benefit of service water use is higher in the north than in the south. Based on the fundamental distribution of water resources and the spatial heterogeneity in the economic benefits of water use, potential water diversion areas can be preliminarily identified: the Haihe River Basin in the North China Plain and some areas in the southeast coastal region are potential receiving areas, and the eastern regions of Southwest China with abundant water resources and lower elevations, along with the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are potential source areas. Further research about marginal benefits and water use costs, along with dynamic updates, is required for water resource allocation of China.