Comparison of practices

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

Use of water resources

Country: Kazakhstan

Province: South Kazakhstan Region

Other settlement: distant pastures of A. Sagintayev LLP

Country: Kazakhstan

Province: South Kazakhstan Region

District: Maktaaral District

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.

Rural Water Consumer Cooperatives (RWCC) are located in the tail part of Dostyk and Turkestan Main Canals (TMC)

Start date: 01.06.2015

End date: 15.09.2015

Start date: 01.01.2006

End date: 31.12.2006

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.

Conflicts between water users associated with water distribution;

Loss of water from canals (due to filtration and discharge)

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

• Survey among stakeholders,
• Microsoft Excel computer-based planning of water use,
• Seminars to train water users on computer-based technologies and water accounting

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.

Actions:

Based on the location of RWCCs and with the account of recommendations by akimats (local governance bodies), 8 RWCCs were selected to conduct a survey based on specially prepared questionnaires. Survey results showed that the main issues in target rural areas were water distribution among consumers and drawing up water use plans (WUP) for RWCCs. The proceeding trainings seminars focused on exactly these themes. At the end of the year, the monitoring of the introduction of new water distribution methods was conducted.

Results:

Application of this water distribution practice allowed to sharply reduce the quantity of conflict situations as well as nearly eliminate water losses due to filtration at the canals’ headworks and discharge.

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.

Lessons learnt:

Hourly water distribution allows more flexibility in the context of water deficit. After the trainings for water users and WUAs personnel on hourly water distribution, the number of corresponding conflicts decreased.

Recommendations:

Considering the high turnover of RWCC staff, the trainings should be repeated on annual basis. Hourly water distribution schemes should be used in locations/periods of acute water shortage.

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

• Domestic tools (outcomes of research by domestic R&D organizations)
• Foreign tools (transfer of foreign experience)

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

1. Cost of implementation: High

2. Approximate cost of investment per 1 ha:

3. O&M costs: High

4. Expert support: Not needed

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).

Counterpart holds seminars, training courses and programs on effective use of water resources in Kazakhstan with the aim of assisting farmers and other land users in building up their corresponding skills as well as teaching them basic water use principles.  In the course of its collaboration with Counterpart, IWMI analyzed and studied the reclamation condition of irrigated land plots and the technical state of irrigation and drainage networks in Makhtaaral and Turkestan Districts of Southern Kazakhstan Region.

Project title: Support Program for water associations in Southern Kazakhstan

Project duration: 1 year

Project goal and objectives: train water users on new water distribution techniques, computer technologies for drawing WUPs, most simple methods of water accounting.

Project beneficiaries: water consumers

Project implementer: local akimats

Project donor: USAID

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.

IWMI Report “Training on water management on RWCC level and drawing up the water use plan for Makhtaaral and Turkestan Districts of Southern Kazakhstan Region”, Tashkent 2006

SIC ICWC

SIC ICWC