ABOUT PARTICIPATION OF PRESIDENT OF KAZAKHSTAN N.A. NAZARBAYEV IN OPENING
CEREMONY OF PROJECT INITIATION «REGULATION OF BOTH SYRDARYA RIVER CHANNEL
AND ARAL SEA NORTH PART»
Project “Regulation of both Syrdarya River channel and Aral Sea north
part” have been developed and is implementing within frameworks of Program
of concrete actions on environmental situation improvement in the Aral Sea
basin and Priaralie approved by Head of the States of Central Asia in Nukus.
From whole range of appropriate measures foreseen under project emergent priorities
were underlined, for implementation of which investments in amount 85.8 mln.
USD are required, including over structures:
- dam and spillway of North Aral Sea - 23,2 mln USD
- Aklak Waterworks - 17,6
- Aytek Waterworks - 15,25
- repair of Kyzylorda and Kazakinsk Waterworks - 4,4
- dikes - 3,7
- Shardarya dam rehabilitation - 14,5
In connection with the starting this project implementation in the Aral Sea
basin President of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev visited Kyzylorda oblast on April
13, 2000.
He studied course of construction, material and technical resources provision,
labor conditions of engineers and workers.
Chairman of Committee for Water Resources at Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan
A.D. Ryabtsev reported President about project goals and tasks.
In result of project implementation following outputs will be obtained:
1. Dam on North Aral Sea
- under water level 42 m dried seabed will be covered by water surface area
870 km2, water volume in North Aral Sea will increase by 11,5 km3.
- seawater salinity less than 17 g/l
- favorable conditions will be created for breeding of local fish species
- industrial fish catch will increase by 11,7 th tons
- social-economic situation of Priaralie population will improve and number
of job places will increase
2. Aklak Waterworks
- flow capacity of the structure will be increased from 60 to 400 m3/s
- water inflow in delta and North Aral Sea will increase
- water availability of lake systems and arable haylands will increase
- Syrdarya River channel erosion process will be stopped for some time
- state of wetlands and biovariety will improve
3. Aytek Waterworks
- Syrdarya River flow capacity will increase from 300 to 750 m3/s (including
Karauzek Waterworks – up to 1000 m3/s), that will allow increased discharge
in winter
- water availability of 15,3 th ha irrigated lands will increase
- Syrdarya riverbed flushing will be provided and Kyzylorda city water logging
will reduce
- salt and dust transfer will reduce, and environmental situation in North
Sea coastal zone will improve.
On the meeting of President with experts from agriculture and water management
of Kyzylorda oblast veterans of labor A.D. Ryabtsev and N.K. Kypshakbayev presented
their opinions and proposals. Issues of water infrastructure rehabilitation,
increase of state donations for these purposes were raised, and especially
necessity of qualified young specialists training for water management was
noted.
President N.A. Nazarbayev asked to pay attention to quality of waterworks
construction and pre-schedule launch of these objects that is very important
under such environmental state of region. President concerned about issue – when
North Sea level will reach Aralsk town, as before.
ICWC TRAINIG CENTER WORKSHOP “PROBLEMS OF DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE
IN ARID ZONES”
Conduction of workshop on this topic is caused by increased necessity disseminating
available practical and research knowledge gathered in five states of Central
Asia in conditions complicated by recent low water years and necessity of
immediate introduction of water saving technologies and elaboration of measures
on drainage systems rehabilitation.
Workshop agenda and thematic of reports were oriented on creation of conditions
for exchanging experience of advanced approaches to solution of drainage systems
operation as well as irrigated agriculture between high and middle level experts
and scientists from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Workshop participants – workers of reclamation services at water and
agricultural organizations of Central Asia – from 21 to 25 of April 2003
have been studying reports on problems integrated within 5 modules:
- General issues of irrigated agriculture reclamation;
- Reclamation regimes and land productivity increase;
- Present problems of drainage systems operation;
- Water consumption, water saving technologies, and water productivity
increase;
- Software for irrigation management.
In workshop opening following officials took part and greeted participants:
Deputy Head of Water Department Kh.Kh. Ishanov, USAID representative A.G. Kalashnikov,
Regional Director of START/AED program in Uzbekistan D. Kompi, SIC ICWC Director
V.A. Dukhovny, honored ICWC member, Director of ICWC Kazakh Division, Prof.
N.K. Kypshakbayev, Head of Irrigated Land Reclamation Improvement and Monitoring
Unit at MAWR of Uzbekistan M.M. Mirkhojiyev.
Training participants noted high level of prepared materials and reports,
wide scope of topics and variety of water sector fields proposed to participants,
including issues of integrated water resources management introduction on base
of:
- water supply and water diversion of irrigation and drainage;
- interaction of different types of drainage (surface, subsurface,
horizontal, vertical, and combined);
- integration of use and management by different types of water (surface,
ground, return).
From these position necessity of managing system of large tracts, collectors
as well as system of wetlands and lakes by forces of basin water organizations
(BWO) and national (or territorial) reclamation bodies, while operation of
regulating drainage network is responsibility of local water organizations
including WUAs.
It was noted that currently under present treatment to drainage systems constructed
several decades ago sharp problem of these systems failure will emerge in the
nearest future. Because of lack of financial means cleaning works are not fulfilled
on drainage systems and irrigation structures, even experimental-production
plots are abandoned. Practically all fleet of reclamation machines and mechanisms
including draining cleaners and pumps failed. In late 80-ties- early 90-ties
building industry capacities on pipes production reached annually up to 11
th. t of polyethylene and polyvinylchloride drainage pipes, 2000 km of drainage
ceramic pipes, 6 mln m3 of sand-gravel filter materials, quantity of drainlayers
exceeded 100 units, and fleet of drainlayers allowed cleaning of 2500 km drains
annually. Every year about 600 wells of vertical drainage were constructed.
Presently total capacity of reclamation machines fleet declined 10 times, drainage
pipes production – 100 times, drain cleaning – 15 times. If earlier
frequency of inter-farm collectors cleaning was once per 3 year, and on-farm – once
a year, so now it reduced 2.5-3.0 times. All these technical and operational
shortfalls became particularly dangerous for perspective land fertility. Everybody
knows that without sufficient state support it is impossible to maintain and
repair drainage systems. Students noted necessity of implementing state investment
programs on drainage measures provision, as already for past decade, on different
estimates, areas of highly and medium saline lands in region increased by 600-800
th. ha. Dangerous salinity centers remained there, where before sustainable
desalinization was achieved on the background of drainage systems (Makhtaaral
zone in Kazakhstan, west part of Hunger Steppe lands in Uzbekistan, etc.).
In the same time there are many examples, when attraction of local administration
attention (for example, in Bukhara oblast in Uzbekistan) allows maintenance
of drainage network in proper state. Thus public participation in management
and maintenance of collector-drainage systems becomes very critical from the
point of view of necessity to strengthen attention of all community to management
issues not only in water, but salts and simultaneously for elaboration and
implementation of measures on involving stakeholders in drainage measures.
Students pointed in their reports that often aggravation of operation of drains
and collectors is caused by their wrong use, ignorance of disturbances, and
sometimes deliberate release of irrigation water in collectors. Therefore public
participation will provide organization of network maintenance control contributing
in technical drainage state improvement by not necessarily drainage means,
but also indirectly work on drainage flushing, cleaning of observation wells
and repair of mouth structures, protection of vertical drainage wells from
destroy and robbing.
Workshop participants think that this training promoted better understanding
of available problems, allowed students to systematize own knowledge as well
as broaden their view. Also usefulness of information presented by reporters
was noted for development of specific measures on improving drainage systems
operation.
Data and information obtained during discussions, which belong to routine
activity of water experts, deepened awareness of national features of Water
Users Association creation process, development of water tariffs, hydrometrology,
and management framework. It was said that given training gave opportunity
to better understand financial-economic situation in water sector, technical
provision and general situation in reclamation field as well as features of
zoning irrigation methods, water use efficiency assessment in irrigated agriculture,
and elaborate appropriate decisions.
Students emphasized necessity to intensify work on forestation in water user
awareness concepts of careful treatment to water use and wider and more gradual
introduction of advanced water saving methods in practice of irrigated agriculture.
Workshop participants expressed opinion that presently sufficiently effective
stimulating levers on supporting farmers’ activity on maintenance and
reconstruction of drainage and irrigation systems and structures still have
not been created.
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