Lessons on cooperation building to manage water conflicts in the Aral Sea Basin; Technical documents in hydrology: pc-cp series; Vol.: 11; 2003

2.2. Institutions 
The need to integrate water resources management at the basin level was fully 
understood in the period before independence. Although the centralized water 
allocation system of the Federal Government (the former Ministry of Water Resources 
of the USSR) consulted with the governments of five republics, analysis of water 
shortages in 1974–1975, and especially in 1982, indicated that environmentally sound 
and quantitatively strict water supply along a river was impossible without a single 
water management organization for the whole basin. Such a basin-wide organization 
could manage water in the rivers in accordance with the rules and schedule agreed 
among the republics and approved by the ministry. The framework for this 
organization was approved in 1987, and as a result two Basin Water Organizations 
were established: BWO “Amu-Darya” with headquarter in Urgench, and BWO “Syr-
Darya” in Tashkent. By State Decree No. 1110 (adopted in 1987) all headworks with 
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water discharge of more than 10 m
3
/s on both rivers were transferred to the BWOs’ 
operation and maintenance. 
It is necessary to underline some disadvantages of the above-mentioned 
schemes. First, there was no agreed order of allocation and use of undergroundwaters 
that have transboundary locations. Second, there was no agreed order or limits for 
return flow utilization and water quality management. 
The funding for the BWOs was provided by the Ministry of Water Resources from 
the federal budget for operations, maintenance, rehabilitation, and development. BWO 
activity was organized as follows. On the basis of forecasts prepared by the Central 
Asian Hydromet Services, the BWO presented to the Ministry an annual plan twice a 
year (in March for the vegetation period and in September for the non-vegetation 
period). These plans had been agreed with the republics, and covered water releases 
from the reservoirs and water delivery to each water management region within the 
basin. The water share for each republic was established in accordance with water 
allocations, which were approved by the Federal State Planning Committee on the 
base of “master plans” for both rivers.