Comparison of practices

Use of water resources

• Use of water resources
• Use of land resources
• Re-use of drainage water for irrigation

Country: Kyrgyzstan

Province: Osh Region

District: Kara-Suu District

Country: Kazakhstan

Province: South Kazakhstan Region

District: Maktaaral District

Other settlement: Zhanaauyl Rural District

Akbura River Basin

The Maktaaral Irrigation Massif has 220 vertical drainage wells (VDW), but currently practically all of them are not operational.   The highest level of ground water occurrence in Maktaaral Irrigation Massif falls on December-February after completion of fall irrigation washings and water-charging.  The beginning of vegetation season (April-May) is characterized by receding ground water table.

The second ground water table rise occurs during mass vegetation watering of main crops, as a rule in July-August.

The vertical drainage system in Maktaaral Irrigation Massif does not operate on permanent basis, but mainly during fall and winter (irrigation washing, water charging) and during the vegetation season at the time of insufficient irrigation water supply.

Start date: 01.01.2007

End date: 31.12.2017

Start date: 01.01.2016

End date: 31.10.2017

Low level of coordination among WUAs – as a rule, each WUA liaises independently with its water management organization (WMO).

Deterioration of reclamation situation: raising ground water table and land salination.  Intensified water withdrawal, saving on pipes, reusing ground water for irrigation

Methods of integration and social mobilization

Set of measures to enhance land reclamation condition (rehabilitation of vertical drainage well capacities, fitting them with equipment for pumping ground water via casing column)

• Using casing pipes in wells for water lifting requires application of a special (pipeless water-lifting) device.

The AAMC-WUU is an association of legal entities in the form of Union – a voluntary independent non-profit public organization uniting legal entities (i.e. WUAs) based on common interests with the aim of coordinating actions and protecting shared interests and rights.  AAMC-WUU operates as per the Charter approved at the general meeting of water user representatives, has its own stamp and bank account.

Actions:

The creation of AAMC-WUU began with the establishment of the Initiative Group (IG).  The IG consisted of active water specialists, representatives of water users and other stakeholders who saw the need to transit to IWRM.  Further on, the IG carried out social mobilization, drafted necessary documents (the Union’s Charter, etc.), organized the general meeting of water users that approved the Charter and established the Union’s Council (Board).  After that, AAMC-WUU underwent legal registration and officially launched its work.

Results:

• AAMC-WUU established, legally registered and has been operating until present time;
• AAMC-WUU contributed to the following:
  - enhanced stability and uniformity of water supply to WUAs via state WMO;
  - better collection of water supply service fees paid by WUAs to state WMO.
• Representing the interests of water users as a member of the RMC Water Committee, AAMC-WUU also contributed to decreasing conflicts between WUAs and WMO.

The pipeless water-lifting device allows fixing the submersible pump at a set depth and dividing the well’s trunk into suction and injection zones.

Water lifting is done via the casing column and not the water-lifting pipe used in traditional well operation technology.

 At the same time:

• metal consumption and total weight of the pumping installation decreases by 60-90%;
• pollution of the water-bearing layer is excluded; assembly and dismantling costs decrease by 40-70%;
• power costs of water lifting decrease by 30%; water return of the water-bearing layer increases; possibility of polluting and/or infecting the water-bearing table is excluded making the suggested technology competitive.

 This technology of pumping underground water renders the possibility of intensifying water withdrawal due to creating vacuum in the pump’s suction zone.

Lessons learnt:

The effectiveness of AAMC-WUU depends on internal and external conditions: capacities (financial, institutional, etc.) of its members (i.e. WUAs) and the level of democracy and market development in a given country.  In turn, the growth of capacities of AAMC-WUU members depends on AAMC-WUU performance.

Recommendation:

Currently, WUAs capacities are rather poor which is reflected in AAMC-WUA own underperformance.  Considering that WUA represent the weakest link in water hierarchy and the role of water users in addressing national food, water and environmental security needs, the government should find opportunities to support (first of all, financially) WUAs/AAMC-WUU during transition period (until they become self-sufficient).

There is a need to perform major repair of vertical drainage system with the aim of ensuring the timely diversion of drainage and waste water from the Maktaaral Irrigation Massif.

It is also necessary to identify the optimal environmental and reclamation conditions to prevent salination of irrigated massifs by way of re-using drainage water for irrigation.

The data on the chemical composition of drainage and waste water (as per reports by Southern Kazakhstan Hydro-Geological Reclamation Expedition) prove that in most cases such water can used for irrigation without the need to dilute it with clean irrigation water.

Required personnel capacity-building:

• continuous training of the staff of the Operational Section of Southern Kazakhstan branch of RSE “Kazvodkhoz” on assembly and dismantling of target equipment used for VDW re-fitting;
• drafting and disseminating training materials (operation recommendations, practical seminars and trainings).

Foreign tools (transfer of foreign experience)

Domestic tools (outcomes of research by domestic R&D organizations)

1. Cost of implementation: High

2. Approximate cost of investment per 1 ha:

3. O&M costs: High

4. Expert support: Not needed

1. Cost of implementation: High

2. Approximate cost of investment per 1 ha:

3. O&M costs: High

4. Expert support: Not needed

Project title: Integrated Water Resources Management in the Fergana Valley (IWRM-Fergana).

Project duration: Jan 01, 2001-Dec 31, 2012 (12 years).

Project goal and objectives: overall project goal was “to contribute to safer living, environmental sustainability and wide social harmony, to support rural restructuring in Central Asian countries by enhancing water resources management based on the example of the Ferghana Valley”.

Project beneficiaries: WUAs, farmers in project sites.

Project implementer: IWMI, SIC of the ICWC, Project Steering Committee (PSC) consisting of 3 representatives of the Ministries of Rural and Water Management (MRWM) of project target countries, 3 heads of Regional Water Administrations hosting project target sites.

Within the framework of 5039GF/4 Project supported via the financial grant on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) of Kazakhstan, several demo-sites were established in Maktaaral District of Southern Kazakhstan Region to hold trainings and practical seminars for specialists and to promote the new technology of pumping underground water via vertical drainage wells re-fitted with pipeless water-lifting devices.

Observations of ground water level were performed in the irrigation massif; optimal reclamation regime for irrigated land via vertical drainage wells based on the new technology was developed.

Guidelines on IWRM streamlining, Volume 1 (Institutional Aspects), Tashkent 2011.

Tumlert, V.A., Tumlert, E.V. “Outcomes of designing a device to pump underground water via well casing column” //Fair and rational use of natural resources – a way to the future (III Urkumbayev Readings): report abstract for scientific and technical conference, Taraz 2015, pp. 337-347;

Amangeldiyev, S.S. “Power-and-resource-saving technology of pumping underground water via well casing column with submersible pumps” // Khabar TV Channel, “Innovative Overdrive” Program (in the Kazakh and Russian languages), May 2015;

Tumlert, V. A., Yugai, I.A., Telgarayeva, G.E., Tumlert, E.V. “Introducing a new resource-saving technology of operating vertical drainage wells in irrigated massifs of Southern Kazakhstan Region” // ”Agrarian Science in Agriculture of Siberia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Bulgaria”: report at the XIX International Scientific and Technical Conference, Minsk 2016, pp. 183-188;

Tumlert, V. A., Yugai, I.A., Ismailov, B.D. “Technology of  pumping drainage water within the vertical drainage system in the irrigation massif of Southern Kazakhstan Region” // “Transboundary cooperation in Central Asia – stability and wellbeing of the whole region”: materials of international scientific and technical conference, Almaty 2017, pp. 181-187;

Tumlert, V. A., Yugai, I.A., Ismailov, B.D. “Intensifying water supply of distant pastures based on GIS-technologies” // “Prospects of innovative and investment development of the water sector”: materials of international scientific and technical conference, Kherson, Ukraine, May 18-19, 2017, pp. 133-137.

SIC ICWC

SIC ICWC