The Evolution Mechanism of the Water Supply System in the Water Receiving Area of a Water Diversion Project Inspired by Dissipative Structure Theory

Interbasin water transfer is widely used to ensure water supply security in water-scarce regions. However, the evolutionary mechanism of the water supply system in the receiving area under the impact of water diversion projects remains unclear. The theory of dissipative structures is utilized in this study to analyze the entropy flow of the water supply system in the receiving area. An entropy flow measurement index system is constructed, and the transformed Brussels model is combined to determine the evolutionary direction of the water supply system under the influence of the water diversion project. Taking Zhengzhou City as an example, the results show that after the South-to-North Water Transfer Project commenced operation, the evolutionary value increased from 0.048 to 0.199, indicating that the system is evolving toward a dissipative structure. In contrast, without the South-to-North Water Transfer Project, the evolutionary value decreased from −0.850 to −1.045, indicating that the system is evolving toward a nondissipative structure. Upon further discussion, it was found that the South-to-North Water Transfer enhanced the negative entropy of environmental management in Zhengzhou’s water supply system, reduced the positive entropy of the water supply mode, and steered the system toward sustainable and healthy evolution.