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Hydro-economic situation |
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The Aral Sea basin has large water and power resources, but their distribution by territory is non-uniform.
With the
purposes of the decision of problems of water resources management in the
Aral Sea basin the large reservoirs and hydrosites were constructed by the
states of Central Asia. After acceptance of the sovereignties a number of
measures was accepted. In 1992 the
Interstate
Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC) has been created. The
executive bodies and the basin water-economy associations (BWA) have been
included into the ICWC
At the same time due to imperfection of legal and normative base for the executive bodies of ICWC, distinctions of interests of the states on water use and weak technical equipment of BWA objects by facilities for water measurement and non-sufficient control the accepted decisions were not always carried out in the specified volumes and terms. Main hydro-economic problems of Amu Darya are concentrated in lowers, which suffer from sharp shortage of water per usual or droughty years, insufficiency of a drain for maintenance of swamp eco-systems and of natural zones and for restoration of a part of the Aral Sea. Despite of undertaken efforts on distribution of water resources between the consumers it is not possible to avoid completely the disproportions of water consumption even within the framework of one country, especially between middle and under current of Amu Darya. It requires the development of the effective mechanisms and rules of management, which take into account the loss of a drain and which directed on maintenance of steady distribution of water, including ecological drawdown between control alignment and irrigated systems especially in shallow years.
With purpose of provisions of balance between energy needs of Kyrgyztan and irrigation requirements of lower countries in 1998 the Framework agreement on use of water and energy resources of the Syr Darya River basin has been adopted. Since then water drawndown from Toktogul dam meets to needs of consumers from lowers, and Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan provide Uzbekistan with fuel.
More then 51% from total volume of return water take off into rivers by collectors; about 33% - into lowers. And due to pollution only 16% of return water is reused for irrigation. Because of lack of the legal base the ICWC did not yet get the control of quality of transboundary waters. In region on a base of collector-drainage and wastewaters a few hundreds of reservoirs with different volume have been constructed. It needs to note among them Aidar-Arnasai lower with volume of more 30 km3, Sarykamysh with volume about 20 km3, Dengizkul, Solenoe, Sudochie and a number of less capacious ones containing up to few millions cubic meters of water. It is necessary to renew the construction of the right-coast route for taking aside of salt waters from lowers into the Aral Sea. The area of irrigated lands of the Central Asian countries in basin of the Aral Sea is about 8 mln. ha, and more then 5.0 mln. ha of them are undergone to salinization and different kinds of erosions. In connection with infringement of agro-technical measures, the sharp deterioration of a technical state of irrigation-drainage systems and melioration state of lands the decrease of efficiency of irrigated lands and spray water are observed.
The
tendency to growth of irrigated lands areas with close
level
deposition and high mineralization of ground waters, salinization,
erosions and land degradation as well as non-productive losses of waters
at fields are increased.
The construction of artificial drainage is required for 5.5 mln. ha of irrigated lands. The works on land drainage have been stopped. The repaired-rehabilitation works have been decreased at all parts of drainage systems. At the same time, the problems of improvement of irrigated state of lands and rational use and water resources protection require urgent measures on rehabilitation of availability of present irrigated systems and drainage network. Because of long terms of operation of dams and reservoirs there were changes of their parameters and statuses; stability and reliability of structures have been decreased. The majority of dams of region require urgent measures on increase of their safety. Within the framework of the Project on water resources and environment management (WEMP) the pilot projects on restoration and modernization of dams have been prepared. It is necessary to continue these works on the especially important priority objects. Because of excessive cutting down trees and bushes in a zone of formation of a drain the negative processes – floods, mudflows, landslips and shallowness have been increased. The opportunities to adopt the salt resistance and quick cultivated trees as a biological drainage on underflooded and salted grounds do not use. There is a significant potential for development and restoration of forest fund in a zone of formation of a drain and deltas of the rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya. |
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Web Master: ecifas@tajik.net |
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Four coastal
countries accepted the agreements on annual division of water resources in
basin of the river Syr Darya, and also on limits of water intake from each
channel. These limits are corrected depending on actual annual water
capacity, if the drain appears below average norm. Thus, basically
contradictions in distribution of water are absent, but there are disputes
of practical character because of non-accuracy of the forecasts and
measurement, and also absence of clearness in work of reservoirs. The
practical assistance to equip the BWA bodies by facilities such as
mechanical, water measurement and communication equipment is required.
The significant
volumes of water from Toktogul in winter time reach the Shardarinskii
reservoir, however below on current the Syr Darya can not pass such amount
of water because of ice jams. In result, large volumes of water (more than
30 km2) have collected in Arnasai hollow in Uzbekistan. The
damage to grounds and populated areas of Uzbekistan is caused, thus a lot
of water is lost, which could be sent to the Aral Sea. The World Bank has
given a loan to Kazakhstan to help in the decision of this problem, and
also for stabilization of a part of the Northern Aral. 