Environmental performance reviews united nations

River basin
Area and water demand by development scenarios
M aximum
M aximum
2010
2025
M inimum
Optimum
M inimum
Optimum
Table 6.4: Irrigation development and water demand for irrigated agriculture
Source:
Global Environment Facility: Water and Environmental Management Project for the Aral Sea basin,
A1 Component. National Working Group Final Report, 2002.
Note: Scenarios do not consider changes in dietary habits.
Drinking water
63%
Irrigation
26%
Production and 
technical water
11%
Figure. 6.1: Groundwater use in 2008, thousand m
3
/day
Source: State Committee for Nature Protection, 2009.
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Urban
79.8
81.2
84.3
87.3
93.1
95.0
96.0
Rural
72.3
74.9
74.9
75.0
79.1
82.3
85.4
Table 6.5: Percentage of water supply coverage, 2000–2006
Source:
http://www.statistics.uz, 2009.

 
Chapter 6: Sustainable management and protection of water resources 
93 
 
the  available  fresh  groundwater  resources  meet  the
drinking water demands of the population. However,
it  should  be  mentioned  that,  during  the  last  few
years,  groundwater  quality  has  been  deteriorating,
resulting in a reduction in groundwater reserves that
can be used as drinking water sources. Groundwater
resources in the western territories of the country are 
reported to have increased in salinity and hardness.
Urban populations are better provided with drinking
water.  Ninety-six  per  cent  of  the  urban  population 
is  connected  to  the  drinking  water  supply  network;
in rural areas this figure declined to 85.4 per cent in
2006 (table 6.5). Drinking water supply problems are
very acute in the Bukhara and Navoi regions and the
Republic of Karakalpakstan.
Average  water  supply  system  efficiency  is  only  63
per cent, and in a number of regions this figure ranges
from  42  to  62  per  cent  due  to  various  technical  and 
organizational problems, such as obsolete equipment,
missing  water  flow  meters,  and  insufficient  reliable
data and analysis.
Many  people  have  to  use  water  from  wells  and 
irrigation  canals.  In  most  cases,  this  water  does
not  meet  sanitary  requirements  (especially  in  the
summer). Currently, about one third of the country’s
population  consumes  drinking  water  that  does  not
meet the national requirements. The monitoring data
reveal the non-conformity of tap water quality to the 
accepted standards by its chemical and bacteriological
composition (table 6.6).
Drinking  water  consumption  (l/day  per  capita)  in
rural  areas  decreased  from  180.5  l/day  in  1996  to 
114.8  l/day  in  2004,  and  in  urban  areas  from  549  l/
day  to  325.7  l/day  due  to  the  introduction  of  water 
metering and water pricing.
A  significant  proportion  of  municipal  and  drinking
water  supply  is  provided  by  groundwater.  Owing  to
the uneven distribution of fresh groundwater reserves,
some regions have a shortage of drinking water, such
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Chemical composition
16.3
15.9
16.3
18.9
11.7
Bacteorological composition
5.1
5.2
5.5
6.0
7.5
Table 6.6: Percentage of drinking water quality samples not conforming to standard requirements, 
2002–2006
Source: State Committee for Nature Protection, 2008.
Note: Samples were taken from municipal water conduits.
as the Republic of Karakalpakstan and the regions of
Khorezm,  Bukhara,  western  districts  of  Samarkand,
Kashkadarya,  Jizzakh  and  Surkhandarya.  The  goal
of  the  authorities  is  to  provide  the  entire  population 
with  good  quality  drinking  water  and  to  meet  the
municipal  water  demands  of  cities  and  settlements 
through centralized water supply systems.
Annual  consumption  in  the  period  2002–2008 
amounted  to  between  2.15  km
3
  and  2.34  km
3
.  The 
drinking water supply of Tashkent, which has an area
of  330  km
2
,  2.3  million  inhabitants  and  a  coverage
rate  of  99  per  cent,  consists  of  three  main  sources 
with two groundwater deposits and one surface water
source  providing  2.3  million  m
3
/day  over  a  supply 
network of 3,500 km. Although there are periods with
clear  crude  water,  purification  using  filtration  and
chlorination is necessary in order to meet all national 
and international standards. The use of drinking water
in  industry  is  not  allowed,  with  some  exceptions  for 
small enterprises.
In 2009, almost all households will be equipped with 
water  meters,  which  have  already  been  installed  in 
almost  all  multi-apartment  houses  and  about  50  per 
cent  of  all  households.  Statistics  clearly  indicate 
that  households  equipped  with  water  meters  have 
an average daily consumption of only 140 l/day per
capita,  whereas  households  without  water  meters 
have an average daily consumption of 580 l/day per
capita.
 
Hydropower production
Twenty-eight  hydropower  stations  produce  12.5
per  cent  of  the  electricity.  The  future  development 
of  hydropower  in  Uzbekistan  will  be  aimed  at
maximizing the capacity and efficiency of one of the
most important renewable energy sources. The plan in
the near future is to restore and develop the existing
hydropower stations. The total use of water resources 
by the hydropower sector varied from 3.95 km
3
/year 
in  2002  to  5.0  km
3
/year  in  2008  and  is  estimated  at 
4.04–4.15 km
3
/year for 2025 (chapter 8).

94 
Part III: Environmental concerns in economic sectors and sustainable development
 
 
 
 
Fishing industry
One  of  the  serious  consequences  of  the  Aral  Sea 
disaster  is  the  loss  of  the  country’s  thriving  fishing
industry,  which  once  provided  20,000  tons  of  fish
annually. The relocation of the fishing industry from
the sea to the lake system of the Aral Sea littoral zone
has not prevented a steady decline in the region’s fish
catch.
As  a  result  of  this  relocation,  the  fishing  industry
has been reoriented to pond fish breeding and all the
suitable  water  bodies  are  now  used  for  this  purpose, 
particularly the Aydar Arnasay Lakes System.
The  increase  in  water  mineralization  and  pollution
by  toxic  substances  resulting  from  the  disposal
of  irrigation  return  waters  and  industrial  effluent
into  water  bodies  has  a  significant  effect  on  the
fishing  industry.  Despite  the  fact  that  this  industry
is  considered  a  water  user  rather  than  a  consumer, 
it  consumes  around  60  per  cent  of  the  0.368  km
3
  of 
annual water intake.
As a result of this increase in capacity, the total water 
demands of the fishing industry will rise sharply. By
2010, water demand will rise to 2.1 km
3
/year and will 
reach 2.4 km
3
/year by 2025, up from 0.43 km
3
/year in 
2002 and 0.72 km
3
/year in 2008.
6.5 
Wastewater
 
Collector–drainage water from irrigation
The  annual  discharge  of  collector–drainage  water
into  streams  and  receiving  reservoirs  amounts  to
20–25  km³.  The  content  of  nutrients  (nitrogen  and
phosphorus)  and  pesticides  in  collector–drainage
water is significantly higher than in surface water.
The  most  mineralized  of  these  waters  (up  to  9  g/l)
are found in the lower reaches of small rivers and the 
Amu  Darya  River.  To  prevent  pollution  in  the Amu 
Darya River, a package of measures on drainage flow
management  along  the  right  bank  of  the  river  has
been  developed  under  the  Drainage,  Irrigation  and
Wetlands Improvement Project financed by the World
Bank.  These  measures  could  make  a  considerable 
contribution to saving water in Uzbekistan and in the
whole region.
 
Sewerage in rural and urban areas
Although  the  in-stream  disposal  of  public  utility
wastewater  has  been  decreasing  in  recent  years,  the
purification  rate  is  not  sufficiently  high.  The  low
operating  efficiency  of  wastewater  treatment  plants
(50–70 per cent against rated capacity) results in an
increased concentration of pollutants in surface water 
streams and depression reservoirs. Treated wastewater 
is  reported  to  contain  increased  concentrations  of 
ammonium and nitrites. The situation is most difficult
in  regions  characterized  by  a  water  deficit,  such  as
the  Republic  of  Karakalpakstan  and  the  regions  of
Khorezm and Bukhara, and in areas with a high level
of  industrial  agglomerations  (Tashkent,  Fergana,
Samarkand and Navoi industrial areas).
Therefore,  the  middle  and  lower  reaches  of  the 
majority  of  regional  rivers  are  characterized  by
increased water salinity as well as sulphate, chloride, 
fluoride,  mercury,  phenol  and  silicon  concentrations
that regularly approximate or exceed MAC values.
Given that main water streams can no longer be used
as  sources  for  drinking  water  supplies,  adequately
providing  the  population  with  good  quality  fresh
drinking  water  is  one  of  the  country’s  most  serious
problems.
The  sanitation  network  of  Tashkent  City,  which 
has  a  coverage  rate  of  more  than  90  per  cent,  has
a  sewage  network  of  2,800  km  and  three  sewage
treatment  plants,  which  need  to  be  reconstructed. 
For  this  purpose,  a  contract  for  credit  of  over  US$
29  million  from  the  Islamic  Bank  for  Development 
will  be  signed  in  2009.  For  industrial  wastewater,
the  local  municipal  water  company  (vodokanal)
requests the enterprise to ensure the pre-treatment of 
industrial wastewater. Otherwise, the enterprise must 
treat the wastewater at its industrial site to reduce the 
concentrations  and  charge  of  the  pollutants  before
releasing it into vodokanal channels.
 
Industrial wastewater 
Uzbekistan’s  industry  withdraws  1.2  km
3
  of  water 
annually, only 0.58 km
3
 of which is consumed. Almost 
half of the withdrawn water is returned in the form of 
industrial  effluent,  which  poses  an  ecological  threat
to  the  environment.  Five  hundred  and  two  industrial 

 
Chapter 6: Sustainable management and protection of water resources 
95 
 
Box 6.1: SamAuto: Sustainable water management in industry
SamAuto is an enterprise located in Samarkand which produces buses and trucks. Since industrial processes have an 
impact on the environment, environmental issues were discussed from the design stage of the factory (ISO 9001 from 
1991 to 2007, and ISO 14000 since January 2008).
The  company  uses  groundwater  from  artesian  wells  with  a  backup  connection  to  the  municipal  drinking  water  supply 
network. For this purpose, the enterprise needs a special licence on the basis of a hydrogeological study. About 3 m
3
 of 
water per vehicle is necessary during the production cycle. Using a multistep treatment facility consisting of mechanic 
and chemical treatment processes up to the final step of ion exchange with reclaimable material, a majority of the treated 
wastewater is used as recycling water in the painting box. The rest of the purified wastewater is discharged into the mu
-
nicipal sewage network, for which the company must pay fees according to the water meter charges and the analysed re-
sidual concentration of pollutants. Scheduled inspections are carried out in periods of two to three years, whereas, if fail-
ures occur, the inspection period is shortened to one year (See chapter 2: Compliance and enforcement mechanisms).
The next step in development will be the use of water-based paints instead of paints containing organic solvents; this will 
be checked over a one year period.
enterprises  dispose  of  around  0.14–0.17  km
3
/year  of 
poorly purified effluent containing heavy metal salts,
fluorides,  phenol,  petrochemicals,  all  nitrogenous
groups,  and  biological  and  other  pollutants  specific
to particular industries into surface water bodies (box
6.1).  About  1–5  per  cent  of  industrial  water,  from 
more than 100 enterprises, is disposed of into streams 
without treatment.
Industrial  production  accounts  mainly  for  water 
pollution  by  heavy  metals,  phenols  and  oil  products. 
Industrial, 
household/municipal 
and 
collector–
drainage  waters  disposed  of  in  streams  contain  8  to
15 pollutants whose concentrations exceed the MAC 
values  for  domestic/drinking  water  supplies  and
fishery waters by 2 to 10 times.
As  part  of  restructuring  the  country’s  economy,
industrial  water  consumption  will  be  oriented  to 
closed cycles of water use that will allow a reduction 
in  consumptive  water  use  by  up  to  24–25  per  cent. 
Total  intake  for  industrial  needs  will  increase  to  1.4 
km
3
/year  by  2010,  and  1.6  km
3
/year  by  2025,  from 
the  current  level  of  not  more  than  1.2  km
3
/year.  In 
recent  years,  the  share  of  industrial  water  recycling
has  been  increasing,  with  the  highest  rate  of  water
recycling  found  in  the  industrial  enterprises  of  the
Tashkent, Navoi and Fergana regions.
6.6 
Water policies and strategies
 
Policy objectives
The  main  aim  of  the  Government’s  water  sector
policy is  to  promote the rational use  of  water and  to 
protect  water  resources.  It  also  aims  to  improve  the 
efficiency and reliability of the country’s water sector
management,  ensuring  guaranteed  water  delivery
and  providing  essential  services  both  to  society  and
natural  ecosystems  for  the  reconstruction,  operation 
and maintenance of the existing infrastructure.
The water sector reform began with the adoption of
the Cabinet of Ministers Resolutions on the transition 
from  an  administrative  territorial  approach  to  a 
two-level  system  of  basin  irrigation  management,
involving  the  introduction  of  market  relationships
at  all  levels  of  water  use  through  the  2003  Cabinet
of  Ministers  Resolution  on  Improvement  of  the 
Activities  of  the  Ministry  of Agriculture  and  Water
Management  and  the  2003  Resolution  on  the
Improvement of Water Management Institutions.
The  transition  from  the  territorial  management
principle  with  its  strict  centralized  approach,  to
the  more  flexible  systems  approach  based  on  basin
principles,  is  fundamental  for  these  resolutions. 
Internationally,  basin-based  integrated  water
resources  management  (IWRM)  is  the  prevailing
paradigm in managing water resources. The creation
of  the  two-level  system  of  national  water  resources 
management  through  the  establishment  of  the  basin
administrations  of  irrigation  systems  (BAISs)  and
water user associations (WUAs) has become the most
important component of the on-going reforms.
 
Legislation
The  most  important  legal  document  is  the  1993
Law  on  Water  and  Water  Use,  with  its  December 
2007  amendments.  The  Law  contains  significant
provisions  on  regulating  the  water  sector’s  rational
use  of  water  for  the  needs  of  the  population  and  the 
national  economy;  protecting  water  from  pollution

96 
Part III: Environmental concerns in economic sectors and sustainable development
 
 
 
and  depletion;  preventing  and  eliminating  other
negative  impacts  on  water;  improving  the  condition
of water bodies; protecting the rights of enterprises,
institutions,  organizations,  private  farms  and
dekhkans (small family farms) and citizens in relation
to  water.  The  Law  is  currently  under  revision,  with 
proposals to include the different categories of water
consumers, water users and water bodies.
The  1999  Law  on  the  Safety  of  Waterworks  is 
aimed at ensuring safety in the design, construction,
commissioning,
reconstruction,
restoration,
conservation  and  demolition  of  water  structures. 
Many  important  aspects  of  state  management,  use
and  protection  of  water  resources  are  regulated  by
by-laws  and  Cabinet  of  Ministers  Resolutions,  for 
example  the  2002  Law  on  Granting  the  Status  of
Specially  Protected  Natural  Territories  of  National 
Value to Formation Zones of Groundwater.
In  line  with  government  priorities,  an  Oliy  Majlis
commission,  together  with  governmental  agencies
and  stakeholders,  is  preparing  a  law  on  WUAs,  as
well as a new version of the Law on Water and Water 
Use and other legal acts.
Since  2001,  eight  Cabinet  of  Ministers  resolutions
have  been  adopted  concerning  rivers,  and  three
concerning  groundwater.  They  ensure,  among
others, an improvement in the organization of water
resources  management  and  irrigation  management,
the regulation of all water use, and the preservation
of protected natural areas through the withdrawal of
facilities that represent a danger to the environmental
from  the  water  protection  zones  of  the  eight
major  rivers.  So  far,  155  such  facilities  have  been 
withdrawn. An inventory of groundwater sources and
measures  to  safeguard  water  protection  zones  along
the designated areas of fresh groundwater abstraction
are being carried out.
 
Implementation 
of 
strategies 
and 
programmes
The  2002  Concept  of  Integrated  Sustainable  Water
Supply  sets  forth  the  principal  objectives  for  water 
management  and  amelioration  measures  for  2008–
2011. These directives envisage major improvements
in  land  use  through  better  drainage,  an  increase  in
the  efficiency  of  agricultural  water  supply  through
irrigation  modernization,  and  the  introduction  of
IWRM.
Closely  related  to  the  Concept  is  the  2001  Strategy
for  the  Development  of  the  Irrigation  and  Drainage
Sector  and  the  National  Programme  on  the
Development  of  Irrigation  for  2000–2005. Together,
these  two  documents  are  important  instruments  for 
implementing  water  resources  management  policy,
which is of prime importance for agriculture and the
environment.
Uzbekistan participates in the European Union Water
Initiative,  whose  political  support  is  strengthened
by  European  Union  commitment  to  achieve  the  key 
tasks  associated  with  water,  such  as  reducing  the
number  of  people  without  access  to  safe  drinking
water  and  sanitation  by  2015,  or  the  development 
of IWRM and efficient water use planning by 2015.
The  development  of  Uzbekistan’s  national  IWRM
strategy  will  help  to  overcome  the  existing  barriers
and  adaptation  to  the  changes  in  water  and  land
use  associated  with  the  expected  demographic
growth,  migration  and  the  growing  demands  of  the
population.
The  following  activities  were  carried  out  in  the
country under the relevant programmes and projects:
(1) The IWRM Fergana Project (2001–2005), which
increased the field application efficiency of irrigation
water from 42–51 to 69–81 per cent.
(2)  The  IWRM-orientated  drainage  project  for  the
Right  Bank  Collector  with  a  package  of  technical
interventions,  as  well  as  all  possible  options  and 
scenarios for collector–drainage water management.
(3) The restoration of the Lake Sudoche wetlands in
the Amu Darya River delta.
(4)  The  establishment  of  the  Nuratau-Kyzylkum
Biosphere Reserve.
(5) Projects focusing on improving the knowledge on
and  awareness  of  IWRM,  such  as  the  ZEF  (Center
for  Development  and  Research)/United  Nations 
Educational,  Scientific  and  Cultural  Organization
Project  on  Sustainable  Management  of  Land  and
Water  Resources  in  Khorezm,  carried  out  with
financial  support  from  the  international  community,
which  will  contribute  to  the  successful  introduction 
of IWRM in Uzbekistan.
The  State  Programme  on  Providing  the  Rural
Population  with  Drinking  Water  and  Natural  Gas
for  the  Period  2000–2010  is  intended  to  extend 
water supply network coverage to 85 per cent of the
population  and  to  reduce  per  capita  consumption 
in  cities  through,  for  example,  installing  meters,

 
Chapter 6: Sustainable management and protection of water resources 
97 
 
eliminating  leaks  and  changing  water  consumption
rates.  The  Programme  also  envisages  providing
alternative water supply sources for remote areas that 
cannot be reached through conventional means.
The  1998  National  Environmental  Action  Plan 
for  1999–2005  predetermines  state  policy  aimed 
at  improving  the  quality  of  surface  water  and
groundwater.  The  Programme  of Actions  on  Nature
Protection  for  2008–2012  includes  measures  on 
water treatment plants, the reconstruction of sewage
plants and the construction and maintenance of water 
pipelines.
6.7 
Institutional  setting  for  water  resources