How much water is set to be released from Iriklinsk reservoir
Since March 10, the Iriklinsk reservoir in Russia's Orenburg region has been releasing 201 cubic meters of water per second, Kazinform News Agency reports.
However, no significant increase in water release is expected at this time.
In light of 2025 spring flood, a meeting was held between Zhassulan Bissembiev, the deputy governor of Atyrau region, and Ignat Petukhov, the governor of Russia's Orenburg region, to discuss cooperation in water-related issues.
According to Vassily Meshcherin, head of the Orenburg Hydrometeorological Center, snow reserves in the region are lower than normal, but ice break-up on rivers may begin 6-12 days earlier than usual.
Sergey Ridel, head of the Lower Volga Basin Water Resources Department, reported that the water release has been increased to 201 cubic meters per second since March 10.
"By March 27, 1.2 billion cubic meters of water will be released from the reservoir. During the flood, an inflow of 0.9 to 1.5 billion cubic meters is expected, which will help prevent maximum releases," he noted.
Recall that in 2024, several regions of Kazakhstan experienced devastating spring floods. One of the reasons is a large amount of precipitation in fall and then sharp freezing of soil. Frozen soil prevented water from soaking into soil in spring, which led to flooding.
Another factor which caused the flood was the release of water from the Iriklinsk Water Reservoir at 1600 cubic meters per second in early April. As a result, the Ural River overran its banks and inundated adjusting areas.
As reported earlier, Kazakhstan plans to build four water reservoirs in three regions.
