Comparison of practices

• Use of water resources
• Use of land resources

Use of water resources

Country: Kyrgyzstan

Country: Kazakhstan

Province: South Kazakhstan Region

District: Maktaaral District

Transboundary river

The hydro-posts are located in foothill and/or flat areas with the water stream speeds in canals fluctuating between 0.1 and 1.5 m/s

Start date: 01.04.2012

End date: 31.10.2016

Start date: 01.01.2015

End date: 31.12.2017

Imperfections of the water management mechanism in the Isfara small transboundary river basin

• Inefficient management of water resources;
• Inefficient planning of water distribution

The principle of stakeholder engagement in decision-making associated with water management of small transboundary river;

IWRM planning technique

DUV 2/0.005-10 Water Level Sensor

The river originates in Kyrgyzstan in Ak-Suu Glacier on the northern slope of the Turkestan Ridge 3,193 m above sea level.  The Ak-Suu ruins are located close to the river source.  Near the settlement of Karavshin, the river is called the same name.  Crossing the national border, the river merges with the Kshemysh River (Kshemyshsai) and, further on, the river receives the name of Isfara.

 Actions:

Establishment of stakeholder groups, i.e. Small Basin Councils (SBC) representing local authorities, NGOs, water users and local communities.  SBC secretariats independently hold internal semi-annual meetings.  Thus, the SBCs serve as platforms to exchange opinions and information as well as take joint decisions associated with the enhancement of the overall situation in the river basin.

Results:

Creation of national Small Basin Councils (SBC) on the Isfara River allowed a platform for exchanging opinions and information as well as for drawing joint decisions to improve the overall situation in the Isfara River Basin, including the development of the IWRM basin plan for the target basin.

The DUV 2/0,005-10 Sensor was deployed and demonstrated its efficiency in Jambyl and Southern Kazakhstan Regions.  It allowed to visually and in real-time observe the dynamics of water level fluctuations and completely exclude manual operations and subjectivity in the process of taking readings – a relevant task in the environment of transition to market economy.

Water level sensors were installed in 17 hydro-posts in Southern Kazakhstan Region (Maktaaral District).  In Jambyl Region, the same sensors were installed in 3 hydro-posts in Merke District.

Results:

Technical:

a) immediate data exchange on water volume passing through every water lead to the fields of agricultural producers (farms) as well as automatic transfer of this information to stakeholder organizations (branch of “Kazvodkhoz” Republican State Enterprise (RSE), etc.);

b) archiving the data coming from hydro-posts with its subsequent processing in the form of reports.

Technical and economic:

1) “all in one” – all components of DUV 2/0.005-10 are assembled into one unit/casing, do not require any additional modules and adjustments, i.e. it is an out-of-the-box universal tool to execute monitoring of water reserves irrespective of the availability of power supply and other technical and weather conditions.  The simple Sensor’s design facilitates installation and start-up and commissioning, as well as allows minimizing labor costs;

2) DUV 2/0.005-10 is flexible in terms of installation, data transfer methods, measurement subject (water level or hydro-lock position, etc.);

3) the cost of the measuring unit is 3-4 times less compared to currently available alternatives;

4) DUV 2/0.005-10 designed architecture allows increasing the number of controlled points and performing an integrated monitoring of the whole network.

Lessons learnt:

Introduction of IWRM principles is the pre-requisite of stable and fair water supply irrespective of a given water user’s location.

Recommendations:

Currently, when local stakeholders are represented in SBCs and are engaged in joint water management, it is necessary to hold thematic seminars to ensure sustainability of SBC operations in the future.  In the long term, it might be possible to establish a joint body to manage the whole river basin.

Lessons learnt:

Deployment of the DUV 2/0.005-10 Water Level Sensor led to increased precision of water level and consumption measurements and higher promptness of information collection compared to any known methods.

Using the device in the conditions of water resources deficiency, on the one hand, will ensure objective accounting of water use and, on the other hand, will promote water conservation among water users which will lead to more efficient technological development of agro-industrial complex and higher labor productivity.

Recommendations:

The success of deploying water level sensors in project hydro-posts facilitated execution of measures to disseminate the positive experience of using the device in the water sector.  Their effect will be even more significant as enhanced quantity and quality indicators will ensure effective management of water resources and water conservation with simultaneous development of irrigated agriculture.

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

Development and implementation of basin plans constitute principal elements of integrated water resources management.  Multi-agency coordination mechanism via basin councils or coordination groups is an important advantage of IWRM.  This approach allows streamlined coordination and synergy of actions on all levels of management hierarchy.

Project title: Stakeholder partnership in joint policy-making: assistance to transboundary cooperation in small watersheds of Central Asia.

Project duration: Apr 2012-Oct 2016

Project goal and objectives: introduction of the integrated water resources management (IWRM) practice in three transboundary watersheds and its scaling-up in Central Asia.

Project beneficiaries: communities of the Isfara small transboundary river basin, specialists of water and environmental agencies, farmers.

Project implementer: USAID/CAREC.

1. Project title: Implementation, scientific and methodical support and dissemination of automatic water-monitoring and water-accounting instruments in water measuring facilities of the pilot site in Jambyl Region.

Project goal: implement the innovation in the agro-industrial complex of Jambyl Region by way of installing water level sensors (DUV 0.005-10 Model, designed by KazSRIWE LLP) in hydro-posts along the Merkenka River and its diversion canals: Chon, Tesken, MPT of Merke District of Jambyl Region.

2. Project title: Implementation, scientific and methodical support and dissemination of automatic water-monitoring and water-accounting instruments in water measuring facilities of the pilot site in Southern Kazakhstan Region.

Project goal: implement the innovation in the agro-industrial complex of Southern Kazakhstan Region by way of installing water level sensors (DUV 0.005-10 Model, designed by KazSRIWE LLP) in hydro-posts along the diversion canals of Dostyk Main Canal in Maktaaral District of Southern Kazakhstan Region.

carecnet.org

1. Implementation, scientific and methodical support and dissemination of automatic water-monitoring and water-accounting instruments in water measuring facilities of the pilot site in Jambyl Region: R&D Report (final)/ Kazakh Scientific Research Institute of Water Economy, supervised by Karlykhanov, O. K., executed by Li, M.A., Bakbergenov, N.N., Zhakashov, A.M., Imanaliyev, T. K., Ponkratiev, D.M., Taraz 2017, p. 108;
2. Implementation, scientific and methodical support and dissemination of automatic water-monitoring and water-accounting instruments in water measuring facilities of the pilot site in Southern Kazakhstan Region: R&D Report (final)/ Kazakh Scientific Research Institute of Water Economy, supervised by Karlykhanov, O. K., executed by Li, M.A., Bakbergenov, N.N., Zhakashov, A.M., Imanaliyev, T. K., and Ponkratiev, D.M., Taraz 2017, p. 80.

SIC ICWC

Li Marina 

Scientific Research Institute of Water Economy

+7(705)5774464

E-mail: limarina76@mail.ru