Kazakh government is set to address water shortage by upgrading infrastructure and improving water saving
Introducing the new program at a meeting of the Government, Minister of Environment and Water Resources Nurlan Kapparov noted that events to be held under the program would cover three main areas - agriculture, industry and the housing and utilities sector.
In general, the ministry offers a set of measures to reduce the expected deficit by upgrading infrastructure, to improve water saving and enhance water use efficiency. The program's total budget will be 8.2 trillion tenge.
According to N. Kapparov, agriculture is the main consumer of water resources. For example, in 2012, the share of agriculture in water consumption was 84 % and the water loss coefficient in agricultural infrastructure is 66%.
"The introduction of "green" water saving technologies in agriculture and modernization of irrigation systems would help close 43 % of the expected water deficit of 12.2 billion cubic meters, which will be 5.3 billion cubic meters per year," - said N.Kapparov.
Another 28 % of the total deficit of 3.4 billion cubic meters a year, the minister stressed, can be covered by overhauling the infrastructure for transportation, distribution and storage of water. The deficit can be reduced by another 7 % or 0.8 billion cubic meters per year through the refurbishment of municipal infrastructure and introduction of water-saving technologies in the industry.
The remaining deficit of 22% or 2.7 billion cubic meters of water could be closed through interbasin transfer of water resources to solve local problems with water supply specific to a particular pool as well as through reviewing the composition of water-capacious crops. A significant source of water is groundwater resources, but comprehensive assessment of their potential requires additional exploration.
The minister said that a task force was set up to conduct a long-term economic forecast for the supply and demand for water resources of Kazakhstan. By estimates, by 2040 the demand for water or water consumption throughout Kazakhstan will increase by 56 % and reach 25 billion cubic meters per year, cf. the current 16 billion cubic meters. The growth forecast is based on the data supplied by the Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning and assumes that the population will grow in the forecast period to 20.8 million people. This will lead to an increase in water consumption by 35 percent, while the share of the urban population will increase from the current 53 to 73 percent, i.e., due to population growth and urbanization, growing access to piped water supply as well as improvement of people's welfare, water consumption per capita will grow at an average of 1.9% per year.
As for the industrial sector, the growth in water consumption by 2040 will be about 35%, which corresponds to the growth of industrial production in the amount of 4 % per year. The oil and gas extraction and processing, mining industry and electricity production will account for the lion's share in water consumption.
Agriculture is expected to expand the area of regular irrigation to 2.1 million hectares in 2040, which will consequently lead to an increase in water consumption by 1.6 % per year.
According to forecasts, by 2040 the available water resources may make 13 billion cubic meters, i.e., the difference between the demand of 25 billion cubic meters and supply of 13 billion cubic meters will be the expected deficit of 12 billion cubic meters. The government-approved program offers a set of steps to reduce the expected deficit of water, of which 9.5 billion cubic meters can be closed due to the modernization of infrastructure and measures to improve water saving in industry, agriculture, housing and utilities sector.
"In all, these measures require the estimated investment of 3.2 trillion tenge. Additional 2.7 billion cubic meters of water can be saved through the revision of composition of water-capacious crops and construction of mega projects with the estimated cost of 800-900 billion tenge, "- said N.Kapparov.
The head of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Serik Akhmetov said the program would open big opportunities for mayors and governors, for all businesses, including small and medium ones.
"This program is very important for our country, which is considered to have low water resources. Nevertheless, there are opportunities and resources. I invite everyone for active participation. As part of this program, we will develop a comprehensive plan for the management of water resources, in which we'll have to include strategic projects. In particular, these are issues related to irrigation ponds, reduction and efficient use of water in industry, agriculture, housing and utilities sector, i.e., in those sectors where we can save water. And a most important thing is that it opens opportunities for private investment, "- S.Ahmetov concluded.