Calculation and policy suggestion of water right benchmark price in Ningxia

To avoid the excessively low trading prices of water rights and guide the healthy development of the water rights market in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the benchmark prices of water rights for three types of water sources, Yellow River water, groundwater, and surface water in mountainous areas, were calculated based on fuzzy mathematics, entropy weight method, and water price affordability. The research results indicate that the ranking of comprehensive evaluation indices of the benchmark price of water rights is groundwater, surface water in mountainous areas, and the Yellow River water, with values of 4500, 4.406, and 3.791, respectively. From the aspects of benchmark price of water rights for different purposes, the benchmark price for industrial water rights is the highest, followed by that for economic crops and food crops. The type and purpose of water sources affect the benchmark price of water rights through evaluation factors and water fee affordability.