ASSESSING KAZAKHSTAN'S WATER NEEDS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASTANA 000152

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR OES/ETC, OES/PCI, OES/STC, SCA/CEN, EUR/ACE
EPA FOR OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, TASHKENT FOR EPUTNAM

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV EAID KZ
SUBJECT: ASSESSING KAZAKHSTAN'S WATER NEEDS

REF: ASTANA 146


1. Summary: Kazakhstan faces major challenges in the water
sector. Recent GOK activities reflect an increasing awareness
of the severity of the problem. Domestically, it created the
"Water Supply Sector Program 2002-2010," a 115 billion tenge
($900 million) program intended to ensure a sustainable supply
of clean drinking water. In a push to erase the damaging legacy
of Soviet-era resource management, Kazakhstan made regional
water use a primary theme at a recent meeting in Astana of
Central Asian leaders. Nevertheless, despite Kazakhstan's
commitment, daunting challenges remain. The deterioration of
existing water supply infrastructure is taking place faster than
rehabilitation. In rural areas, access to clean drinking water
has greatly decreased in recent years. Regionally, efforts to
effectively manage the resources of the Syr Darya Basin have
achieved little success. Moreover, the growth of Western China
may further threaten Kazakhstan's water security. The United
States has provided significant assistance to various water
programs in Kazakhstan. Most USG water-related projects have
ended, however, leaving the U.S. with fewer opportunities to
demonstrate its commitment to an issue of great importance to
Kazakhstan. End summary.

Clean Drinking Water: Emerging Commitment, Distant Result?


2. The deterioration of existing water supply infrastructure in
Kazakhstan is taking place faster than rehabilitation.
According to a UNDP survey, only 36% of rural inhabitants are
connected to piped water. As a result, in rural areas access
to good quality drinking water has greatly decreased. In the
Pavlodar oblast, 43% of settlements use water that does not meet
national standards. Half of the 840 villages in the Almaty
region do not have access to safe drinking water. In the Ili
River and Lake Balkhash regions, water must be trucked into 42
settlements because villagers currently drink untreated water.



3. In order to combat the critical state of its drinking water,
Kazakhstan introduced the "Water Supply Sector Program
2002-2010," a 115 billion tenge ($900 million) program aimed at
creating a sustainable supply of healthy drinking water. Key
elements of the two-stage program include the construction and
reconstruction of water supply systems and facilities, the
rehabilitation and decentralization of large group water
pipelines, and the introduction of new water treatment
technologies. From 2002-2004, 33 billion tenge ($257 million)
was spent under the program, with two billion tenge ($15
million) coming from foreign loans and grants. Kazakhstan also
co-financed a $34.6 million loan from the Asian Development Bank
for Rural Area Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) to 800 rural
villages in four oblasts.


4. In addition to the water supply program, Kazakhstan recently
enacted a series of water-related laws and policy documents. In
2003, a new water code was introduced to address water use
rights, water management, and use and protection of
transboundary water resources. The GOK has also issued the
"National Strategy and Action Plan to Combat Desertification"
and the "National Environment Action Plan for Sustainable
Development."


5. Despite Kazakhstan's efforts, major obstacles remain.
According to a UNDP report, a growing number of water-pipes in
the country do not meet sanitary requirements. Moreover, a
report funded by the Asian Development Bank warned that the 115
billion tenge allotted for water sector reform and improvement
will have limited impact, if not managed effectively.
Kazakhstan lacks qualified and experienced water experts to
implement the reforms. The report's authors estimate that
without additional professional staff to oversee the "Water
Supply Sector Program 2002-2010," only 25% of the Kazakhstani
planned water supply sector program will be introduced by 2010.
The increase in population served with water will be as low as
ten percent. They also believe that many of the projects
implemented will be of poor quality and unsustainable.

Transboundary Issues: Competition for Limited Resources


6. More than 50% of Kazakhstan's water resources begin outside
the country's borders. As a result, the failure of the Central
Asian nations to create a viable multilateral approach to
replace the Soviet system of water management poses a continued

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threat to Kazakhstan's water security. The greatest point of
contention remains management of the Syr Darya basin, shared by
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. The four
countries have yet to create an effective water resource
management program to balance the summer irrigation needs of
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan with the winter energy needs of
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.


7. At a summit meeting in Astana on September 1, the presidents
of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan made water
use a primary theme. The four leaders agreed to form a working
group to discuss the creation of a regional water and energy
consortium to regulate the transboundary transfer of natural
resources and to resolve water disputes. Promises of future
discussions, however, did not lead to the establishment of any
framework for concrete action.


8. The leaders agreed at the summit to revive the International
Fund for saving the Aral Sea. The Fund will be chaired by
Kyrgyzstan and based in Kazakhstan, with an information center
in Almaty. At a news conference at the conclusion of the
summit, President Nazarbayev expressed his support for a plan to
divert Siberian waters to save the Aral Sea and to provide
Central Asia with additional water resources. Anatoliy
Ryabtsev. Chairman of Kazakhstan's Committee on Water Resources,
told ESTH officer at a subsequent meeting that Kazakhstan does
not intend to divert Siberian waters. According to Ryabtsev,
Moscow Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov first proposed the plan several years
ago, but Kazakhstan has never seriously considered the idea.


9. The six member states of the Eurasian Economic Community
(EEC) - Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan - discussed water use in Central Asia at an August
15-17 summit meeting in Sochi. Russia forwarded an initiative
to establish a Eurasian hydro-power consortium. Plans for the
consortium's structure and operations are expected to be
detailed in time for the next EEC summit.


10. Kazakhstan also faces increased water pressures because of
Western China's rapid economic growth. China's increasing
hunger for water may significantly impact Kazakhstan's Ili and
Irtyush Rivers. The Ili River, which originates in China,
provides Lake Balkhash with 80 percent of its water. The
Irtysh, which also originates in China, supplies a number of
lakes in Kazakhstan as well as the Irtysh-Karaganda Canal.
Water Resources Committee chairman Ryabtsev told ESTH officer
that China and Kazakhstan have established a successful
framework for water resource cooperation. Some
environmentalists, however, dispute the government's appraisal.
The Kazakhstani NGO Tagibat (Nature) says that new factories in
Western China and its growing population are draining both
rivers and could create an environmental disaster worse than the
Aral Sea. The UNDP agrees that Lake Balkhash, only slightly
smaller in area than Lake Baikal, is in danger of drying out.

U.S. Contributions


11. In 2003, the U.S. EPA began to fund the Clean Water
Financing Program, creating a network of financially sustainable
village water systems in rural areas of the Almaty oblast. The
program attempts to create a sense of ownership among users
through their commitment to pay a portion of the capital
(construction) costs and the full cost of the system's operation
and maintenance. After the initial construction costs are
collected, participating villages organize themselves into a
series of democratically elected committees to allow them to
independently manage their water systems. The USG has spent
over $250,000 on the project, and today six village projects
have been completed, bringing safe drinking water to more than
8,000 people in the Almaty Oblast. (See reftel)


12. USAID has financed several major programs in Kazakhstan.
From 1993 to 1997, as part of the Aral Water Basin Program,
USAID spent $5.5 million to bring clean drinking water to
Kazakhstanis living along a 240 kilometer pipeline stretching
from Aralsk to Kazalinsk. The project rehabilitated
well-fields, provided chlorination equipment, and rebuilt
infrastructure. More than 150,000 people gained access to
clean water as a result of the project. From 2001 to 2005,
USAID conducted the Transboundary Water and Energy Project,
aimed at supporting activities to help leaders in Central Asia
to develop and agree on measures to improve water and energy

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cooperation in the Syr Darya Basin. The U.S. spent $3.3 million
dollars on the project. In 2004, USAID initiated a limited
program of support for Water User Associations (WUAs) in the
heavily irrigated region of Southern Kazakhstan. WUAs are
self-managing groups of farmers which coordinate irrigation and
drainage network use in order to ensure fair and equitable water
distribution. The program provides training to WUA staff on how
to operate as a democratic non-governmental organization and
also offers technical training on improved water management.


13. USAID also recently installed a unified communications
network, utilizing meteorburst technology to enable the rapid
collection and distribution of critical, real time weather and
water resource information among participating countries in the
region. The master station for the network will be located in
Kazakhstan, and the GOK has allocated the necessary budgetary
resources for the station's operation and maintenance. USAID
provided $60,000 for the establishment of a Water Training
Center at the Agricultural University in Almaty, which has
become the main water management training facility in Kazakhstan
and hosts national and Central Asian water specialists
participating in vocational training and international round
tables.

Next Steps


14. Kazakhstan has established a series of regional water
basin authorities but poor communication and coordination
severely diminishes their effectiveness. The GOK appears eager
for additional U.S. expertise and guidance in the area of water
basin management. Water Resources Committee chairman Ryabtsev,
told ESTH officer that any additional U.S. assistance with
Kazakhstan's efforts to increase access to clean water would be
welcomed.


15. Comment: President Nazarbayev has stated that a key
priority for Kazakhstan is to become one of the fifty most
developed countries in the world. This goal will be difficult
to achieve if a large number of Kazakhstanis remain without
access to clean drinking water. As a result, Kazakhstan can be
expected to continue to devote resources to improving its water
supply as it strives to achieve a higher level of development.
End comment.
MILAS