ABOUT THE COURSE OF THE “IWRM-FERGHANA” PROJECT
On 30 April 2004 in the new office of Gulyakandoz Canal Authority (CA), Chkalovsk village, a working exchange of opinions and an examination of Gulayakandoz Canal in Sogd oblast were carried out within the framework of “IWRM-Ferghana” Project with the participation of the project staff, Head of Oblvodkhoz K. Mukhitdinov, Chairman of Canal Water Committee (CWC) Gafurov, and Manager of “Pilot Canals” Component within the “IWRM-Ferghana” Project N.N. Mirzayev under the guidance of Project Director Prof. V.A. Dukhovny. The outcomes are as follow:
The Canal Authority managed to quickly and accurately organize its activity as well as put the structures in order, of which the participants made sure while examining two waterworks - one of them, Municipal waterworks (Augi-Kalachi village), has been repaired sufficiently well, put in order, and, in principle, is ready for equipping with SCADA facilities.
The analysis of Gulyakandoz canal operation shows a wide fluctuation in expenses with respect to need for water. Practically, water supply meets the requirements since the 2nd decade of June only. This is explained by an uncontrolled flow in upper reaches within Kyrgyzstan and uncertainty of their water intake, while there is a clear protocol agreement on water allocation at a ratio of 0.21:0.79 (respectively Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan). At the same time, it was noted that specific water intake per a hectare of irrigated land was very high and most likely to be overestimated (to be verified), since planned value for water intake was 20101 m3/ha and for water distribution - 17141 m3/ha.
In this respect, it was proposed:
- To specify needs for water per ha by both water intake and distribution, adjusting it in accordance with rational water consumption norms and real efficiency of the systems;
- To define a guaranteed water supply to Khajibakirgan, a due share of oblast, and a possibility of allocating two indictors by flow probability curve: planned strict water supply based on hydrograph of 90-95% of water availability, principles of allocating the exceed of real hydrograph over guaranteed one, etc.
According to the results of 2003, while water rotation is introduced on canal (by 3 days for each one), there is a significant non-uniformity of water supply, instability in the course of decade and especially month (see the table attached, where it is obvious that while average water availability is 87% by plan the fluctuations by decades are from 0.37-0.45 in April-May at further increase to 1.41, and non-uniformity of this water allocation among water users is at a large rate: from 0 to 197% even in extreme water deficiency months.
CWC should be transformed into a juridical person such as NGO, free of taxes, maintained at the expense of fees by its founders and additional replenishment from donors. State and local municipal bodies should (themselves or through oblvodkhoz) preserve the participation and capability to impose their will on CA on a democratic basis not only by participating in CWC as an “adviser”, but also by actively involving all CWC member-organizations in financing CA (and partially CWC), organizing repair and maintenance, and upgrading. In the first stages, CWC should show its necessity for water users through improving the service and strengthening CA, improving accuracy and reliability of water supply in order that CWC members interested in this initiate the strengthening of their organization themselves. The decision of CWC on decade control of CA operation and weekly meeting with all water users and water organizations is very positive (e.g. Valencia tribunal). In addition, on Chinese sample it is expedient to develop diverse activities on non-profit basis, when all incomes can be directed to improving fixed capital stock and canal operation efficiency (planting in reservoir strips; organize fish hatcheries, fish ponds; transferring on a lease or working by a contract for using own technical equipment and so on).
The main obligations of CWC apart from “searching means and attracting own and donor means” are regularly control and public participation in practical water allocation. Toward this end:
- CWC should endorse water use plan and rules for correcting it;
- CWC is obliged to exactly determine the order of controlling canal water management and daily monitor the performance of it;
- It should gradually transform into Canal Board, which will determine all vital postulates, sources, Regulations the Secretariat of ÎC is guided by. At that it is very important that CWC should establish founders’ contributions that can be made in form of money as well as in form of excavators, bulldozers, machines, mechanisms and so on, which the founders (first of all, state and municipal ones) can contribute in order to use them for developing their CA in future. To this end, it is necessary to use and determine possible premium to a price of water (overpaid for water 0.6 diram) specially for creating 2 units in CWC staff;
For the order of water use, it was agreed on these:
- Decade request for water should be within the limit, íåäîáîð ïî çàÿâêå ïðîòèâ ëèìèòà ñ îáùåãî ëèìèòà ïî âåãåòàöèè ñïèñûâàåòñÿ è íå ïåðåíîñèòñÿ íà ïîñëåäóþùèé ñðîê, åñëè âîäîïîëüçîâàòåëü íå äîãîâîðèòñÿ îá ýòîì ñî ñâîèìè ñîñåäÿìè. Agreement on limit transfer should be taken into account in CA;
- When any water user refuses water as he/she does not need it, a head of a canal site has a right to transfer this water to another user for use within his/her limit or up to 10% in the presence of sound reasons.
- Measurements are carried out 3 times a day: at 6, 12, and 18 o’clock.
- On account of water supply changeability and local problems of water users, in practice water outlet discharges have to be measured many times a day. However, such practice causes significant complications in the operation of canal’s other part. That is why it is necessary to strive for that during water supply - 3 days – discharges remain stable.
- Water on pumping stations should be metered by electric energy consumption that requires making up calibration curves Q = f(Wý) for each pumping station.
- Volume of supplied water is used as a unit and a criterion of management. Pressure as a criterion of the compliance with regime should be used on hydraulic structures only: PC 24 New Kostakoz, PC 33, PC 61, PC 100 Bystrotok, on 10 PCs of Kostakoz canal.
ABOUT INSTALLING WATER ACCOUNTING FACILITIES IN PILOT WUA “ZHAPALAK”
IN THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC
The “IWRM-Ferghana” Project carried out activity aimed at investigating pilot WUA “Zhapalak” in order to define the state and necessary amount of additional water accounting facilities on irrigation and collector-drainage network.
The investigation carried out by project hydrometrist-consultant R.R. Masumov showed that all secondary irrigation canals and their branches meet water accounting requirements. Based on the investigation conducted, the project executors identified an additional need for diverse water accounting facilities for each irrigation canal and its branches. Funds to equip WUA “Zhapalak” with additional water accounting facilities were provided by the Swiss Agency for the Development and Cooperation (SDC) (investigation the object, designing, manufacturing and delivering to the object), being the project sponsor, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of Kyrgyzstan (construction and assembling operations to install water accounting facilities on irrigation canals and collector-drainage network of WUA “Zhapalak”).
The work in this direction is near to the end. We note that by 5 May 2004 the operations have been completed in regard to 105 out of 119 units of water accounting facilities.
In this connection, “IWRM-Ferghana” Project expresses its deep gratitude to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources of the Kyrgyz Republic J.B. Bekbolotov, Head of Osh Basin Water Authority B.E. Matraimov, and “IWRM-Ferghana” Project Office Director A.S. Satybaldiyev for the organization and implementation of construction and assembling operations while installing various kinds of water accounting facilities in pilot WUA “Zhapalak”.
EEC MAY FUND KYRGYZ, TAJIK HYDROPOWER PROJECTS
The Integration Committee of the Eurasian Economic Community (EEC) agreed in Dushanbe on 28 April that member states will ready proposals by 1 June to finance the building of hydroelectric power plants in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, ITAR-TASS reported on 28 April.
Vladimir Grigorev, Belarus’s ambassador to Russia and his country’s permanent representative to the EEC, said that Belarus is extremely interested in participating in the projects to make use of water resources in the Syrdarya and Amudarya river basins, RIA-Novosti reported. The news agency reported that EEC Secretary-General Grigorii Rapota will conduct negotiations with Uzbekistan, which is not a member state, on the country’s role in the project.
The session also discussed the possibility that Tajikistan might soon join an agreement that already joins Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia and simplifies procedures for acquiring citizenship. The EEC member states are Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.
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