Comparison of practices

Use of water resources

• Use of water resources
• Use of land resources
• Environmental protection

Country: Kyrgyzstan

Province: Osh Region

District: Kara-Suu District

Country: Kazakhstan

Province: South Kazakhstan Region

Other settlement: distant pastures of A. Sagintayev LLP

Akbura River Basin

The climate of Jambyl Region is characterized by significant dryness and continentality. The majority of Talas District is located in the desert zone. The warm season is characterized by high air dryness.

Despite substantial thermal resources, considerable lack of moisture limits crop cultivation. The majority of the district’s territory is used for spring, fall and winter grazing. Water supply of pastures is ensured by underground water.

Start date: 01.01.2007

End date: 31.12.2017

Start date: 01.06.2015

End date: 15.09.2015

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

Water supply of the farms located in the zone of distant-pasture livestock production; possibilities to utilize idle wells containing highly mineralized water, use water resources in a rational manner, as well as to increase the area of used pastures by way of supplying them with additional water.

Methods of integration and social mobilization

Technology of reverse osmosis water de-salination in well casing columns

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 water-lifting and de-salination technology includes several innovative elements like air-tight wellheads, pipeless water-lifting devices and de-salination module block in absence of high-pressure pump to drive water through them.

Water de-salination with its subsequent separation into soft (permeate) water supplied to consumers and saline concentrate diverted for disposal.

Protected by Patent No. 23118 of the RK:

 - application of water lifting pipes for submersible pumps is excluded;

- pollution of the water-bearing layer is excluded;

- labor input (assembly and dismantling works) decreases by 40-70%;

- power costs (water lifting) decrease by 30%;

- water return of the water-bearing layer due to vacuuming the water reception section increases;

- exclusion of capital costs associated with construction of a heated room for de-salination block.

Economic efficiency

The social effect lies in supplying consumers with high-quality drinking water, and the economic effect – in growing livestock population grazing in distant pastures with additional (de-salinized underground) water supply. The later will increase Kazakhstan’s food security and meat export capacity, as well as enhance the overall environmental condition of distant pastures.

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).

Enhancing water supply of pastures by restoring existing and, where possible, building new well infrastructure; possibility of using water sources with mineralized water that were not used previously, providing livestock crews and cattle on pastures with drinking-quality water.

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: Moderate

2. Approximate cost of investment per 1 ha: 2,000 thous. tenge

3. O&M costs: Moderate

4. Expert support: Needed at implementation stage

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.

The R&D works were executed under the theme “Investigating the Process of De-Salinizing Different Types of Mineralized Underground Water and Identifying De-Salination Regimes for Water Supply of Pasturable Land” (2013-2015, amount of funding – 13.5 mln tenge) within the framework of Project 0190/GF3 under Program 055 “Research and scientific-technical activities”, Sub-Program 101 “Grant funding of scientific research” as per the contract with SE “Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan”.  The process of de-salinizing mineralized underground water with different physical and chemical characteristics was designed and adjusted in lab and field conditions on distant pastures.  In addition, the technical standards of operating devices to treat underground water with 2-7 g/l mineralization (as per Patent No. 23118 of the RK) were developed.

The practice was deployed under the R&D Workstream “Scientific substantiation of pasture water supply system based on GIS-technologies with the aim of intensifying distant-pasture livestock production” within the framework of Project “Development of technologies to improve and ensure rational use of pastures to advance distant-pasture livestock production” (2015-2017).

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

1. Balgabayev, N.N., Tumlert, V.A., Tumlert, E.V. “Resource-saving technology of de-salinizing mineralized underground water in the conditions of distant pastures” / Water Magazine, No. 6 (82), 2014, pp. 46-49;
2. Tumlert, V.A., Grankin, Yu.Ya., Tumlert, E.V., Gritsenko, N.V. “Disposal of salt brines during de-salination of mineralized water with receiving commodity salts and fertilizers”// “Science and World”, 2015, No. 8 (24), pp. 32-37;
3. Tumlert, V.A., Grankin Yu.Ya., Tumlert, E.V. “Investigating the process of de-salting mineralized underground water based on reverse osmosis via a device installed in well trunk” // ”Science and World”, 2015, No. 12 (28);
4. Tumlert, V.A. “Issues of restoring and upgrading pasture water supply infrastructure to revive distant-pasture livestock production” // “Agricultural Science of Kazakhstan Digest”, 2014, No. 9.

SIC ICWC

SIC ICWC