Nura-Ishim River Basins Water Management Project

1. Purpose: to improve management of water resources throughout Kazakhstan. Goal: sustainable access to safe, reliable and affordable water supply for all. This is a Capacity Building project aimed at strengthening the WRC and the RBOs Nura-Ishim River Basins Water Management Project

2. Phase 1 - Legal Reform and Institutional Capacity Building Reviewed the institutional structure of water management and made recommendations for building capacity Reviewed and recommended improvements in the Water Code to support effective, river basin oriented Integrated Water Resources Management Both of these components are continuing now, into the Phase 2 period Nura-Ishim River Basins Water Management Project

3. Phase 2 - Integrated Water Resources Planning and Management Focuses on the Nura and Ishim River Basins as pilot basins Develops institutional and technical processes and methods to support the adoption of Integrated Water Resources Management Two main outcomes of Phase 2: 1) An Institutional Development Strategy to support improved planning, development and management of water at the river basin level 2) A Water Resources Development Strategy for the river basins Nura-Ishim River Basins Water Management Project

4. Phase 3 – Replication of Integrated Planning Procedures Extends the methods and procedures developed in the Nura and Ishim Basins to all the river basins of Kazakhstan It is the first step in the adoption of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) across Kazakhstan Nura-Ishim River Basins Water Management Project

5. Reliable access to safe water supplies is not sufficient Insufficient access is less a resource problem and more a management problem Water quality is poor Environmental and ecological needs of water are not addressed Why Water Management Must Change

6. to meet international commitments to provision of safe water for all UNGA – to halve, by the year 2015, the proportion of people who are unable to reach or afford safe drinking water To stop the unsustainable exploitation of water resources through developing water management strategies at local, regional and national levels Government has an obligation to ensure provision of safe water to all Why Water Management Must Change

7. Water is essential to economic and social development Inappropriate and ineffective water management results in: wasted money wasted water reduced availability of and access to water reduced economic and social development Why Water Management Must Change

8. Integrated planning and management of water resources and land Takes account of social, economic and environmental factors together Integrates surface, groundwater and the ecosystems through which they flow Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)

9. Emphasises the importance of public participation in water decision making Water is managed for the sole purpose of providing water to the people and the environment Emphasises accountability and transparency in water decision making Emphasises that the River Basin is the appropriate level for effective water management Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)

10. The change to IWRM requires: Institutional development of RBOs, WRC and other organisations to ensure the capacity to adopt IWRM Government support for adoption of IWRM Financial Legal Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)

11. Typical overall structure to support River Basin IWRM: Central government National level coordinating and policy body River Basin Organisation River Basin Council Management by Basin Organisation

12. Central government is obliged to ensure that all people and the environment have access to water of adequate quantity and good quality. This means: Ensuring water management is properly financed Ensuring cooperation between all organisations and institutions related to water management Ensuring the legal framework supports effective water management Role of Central Government

13. The WILL TO CHANGE exists -- in the new Water Code -- in international commitments -- in this World Bank project Role of Central Government

14. Steady reduction in budgets for water management institutions over the last few years Loss of competencies for groundwater WRC lost independence WRC move under Minister of Agriculture – impossible to balance water needs equitably Only a portion of water fees collected is returned to water management activities. Role of Central Government

15. The National Body leads the work of Central Government in key areas: Developing Water Policy Coordinating all organisations and institutions related to water management Decision-making on national programmes, laws, regulations Planning and management at national level, including inter-basin and international trans-boundary issues Raising public awareness and understanding Role of National Level Body

16. Basin organisations are the main authority for water resources planning, development and management Planning for water resources development within the basin Day-to-day management of water resources (allocation, licensing, etc.) Raising local awareness of problems and solutions A Water Council serves also to coordinate with stakeholders Role of Basin Organisations

17. The Water Code

18. NO Integrated water management policy NO Planning goals and competencies NO Need-based budgeting, No self-financing NO Regulation of relationships between Government and private entities NO Legal obligation to share information NO Integration of national and transboundary water management NO Focus on river basin management Possible conflicts of interest – regulator, monitor, licensee, manager of facilities The old Water LawProblems

19. Did not allow privatization of water facilities Lack of clear obligations and procedures between governmental organizations Example: exchange of information No transboundary problems with different States Did not define rights and obligations of water users, public Did not regulate private water management companies Practical problems with old Water Law

20. Law is a foundation and a framework Water is everybody’s business Kazakhstan involved in several transboundary disputes on water UN Watercourses Convention (1997) We must unite national and international water management Why the New Water Code?

21. Objectives and Principles New Competencies New Obligations Strong Basin Organisations Stronger Enforcement Possibilities of financing and growth The new Water Code

22. Integration of water management responsibilities in government Coordination on water issues (RBOs) Licensing of ground and surface waters by one agency (WRC, RBOs) Regulation and Rule-making (WRC) Information and Public Participation (WRC, RBOs) New Water Code- New Competencies

23. Definition (Art. 15.1) includes surface & groundwater Legal basis (Art. 15.2) The present Code laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the State Border international agreements ratified in accordance with the established procedure Primacy of International Law (Art. 2.2) If the International Agreements contain rules different from the Code, the rules of the International Agreements apply New Water CodeTransboundary Waters

24. Nura-Ishim River Basin Management Decision Support System

25. River Basin Management Decision Support System OBJECTIVES • Information System to assist in river basin planning and management • Database of water resources and water quality data for each river basin • Assessment of current water use in each river basin • Prediction of future water usage over 20 year planning horizon • Assessment of current and future predicted water balance in each basin • Basis for determining basin-wide water allocations • Analysis of alternative water management strategies • Analytical tool for evaluating alternative water development options • Application of systematic approach to development of river basin plans

26. River Basin Management Decision Support System COMPONENTS • Geographic Information System (GIS) • GIS database showing location of catchment areas, rivers, river gauging stations, reservoirs, lakes, aquifers, river abstraction points, wellfields, trans-basin diversion schemes and principal demand centres for municipal, industrial and irrigation water users; • Database • MicroSoft Access database, containing detailed data for use in the integrated water resources model, such as historic monthly time-series river flow data, groundwater yields, water quality data, rainfall data, evaporation data, reservoir characteristics and water demand projection data for municipal, industrial and irrigation water users; • Integrated Water Resources Planning Model • Integrated Water Resources Planning Model for simulating the water resources system within each river basin, for the purposes of assessing the present water demand/supply balance across each basin and for evaluating alternative future water resources development scenarios as well as assessing their impacts, in terms of both water quality and quantity, across each basin

27. River Basin Management Decision Support System SYSTEM STRUCTURE MicroSoft Access Database ArcView 8.2 GIS Integrated Water Resources Planning Model

28. Country boundaries Oblast boundaries District boundaries River basin boundaries Sub-catchment areas Rivers Reservoirs, lakes & wetlands Protected conservation areas Recreation & angling facilities Commercial fisheries River gauging stations River abstraction points Groundwater aquifers Groundwater wellfields Wastewater discharge points Water quality monitoring points Trans-basin diversion canals Irrigation canals Water transfer pipelines Pumping stations Hydropower stations Water treatment plants Wastewater treatment plants Urban areas Industrial areas Irrigation areas Municipal demand centres Industrial demand centres Irrigation demand zones Rural water supply schemes River Basin Management Decision Support System Geographic Information System (GIS) GIS database to comprise a spatial data covering the following features:

29. River Basin Management Decision Support System Geographic Information System – ArcView 8.2 GIS

30. River Basin Management Decision Support System MicroSoft Access Database Database comprising the following non-spatial data: • Time-series inflow data for each gauging station; • Groundwater yields for each aquifer source; • Water quality data for relevant contaminants at each source; • Rainfall data from selected stations where data is available; • Evaporation data from reservoirs; • Reservoir characteristics; • Municipal water demand data; • Industrial demand data; • Irrigation demand data; • Development option data; • Capital cost data; • Operating cost data; • Economic criteria.

31. River Basin Management Decision Support System Integrated Water Resources Planning Model Application to assist Integrated River Basin Planning and Management: • Assessment of water resource yields (surface water and groundwater); • Water demand forecasting (municipal, industrial and irrigation); • Assessment of environmental/ecological flow requirements; • Assessment of water quality requirements; • Derivation of water demand/supply balance projections; • Formulation of alternative demand management strategies; • Formulation of alternative resource development strategies; • Derivation of water allocations for licensing purposes; • Estimation of cost of raw water delivery to principal users; • Evaluation of range of development scenarios; • Identification of least cost development scenario.

32. River Basin Management Decision Support System Integrated Water Resources Planning Model Time-series Water Balance Model, comprising the following: • Water resources database; • Water demand forecasting module; • Water balance module; • Water quality module; • Water allocation/costing module; • Resource management/development option module; • Development scenario evaluation module.

33. River Basin Management Decision Support System Integrated Water Resources Planning Model Demand Forecasting module: • Municipal water supply demands; • Commercial/institutional demands; • Industrial water supply demands; • Irrigation water demands; • Rural water supply demands; • Environmental/ecological water requirements. Demand Forecasting criteria: • Population projections for each identified urban centre; • Projected service ratio (% of population served); • Forecast per-capita consumption; • Forecast un-accounted for water (leakage losses etc); • Industrial economic forecasts; • Agricultural forecasts (irrigated areas, crop mix, livestock etc); • Ecological habitat criteria.

34. River Basin Management Decision Support System Integrated Water Resources Planning Model Basin Water Balance module: • River network flow simulation; • Reservoir operations simulation; • Conjunctive use of groundwater/surface water; • Simulation of abstractions/discharges; • 70 year time-series simulation in monthly time-steps; • Target supply reliability criteria; • Operations optimization; • System yield maximization; • Demand/supply balance analysis. Water Quality module: • Simulates variation in water quality through river network; • Preserves dissolved solids balance for conservative parameters; • Takes account of concentration effects of reservoirs / mixing.

35. River Basin Management Decision Support System Integrated Water Resources Planning Model Resource development / Demand management options module: • New groundwater developments; • Development of snow-melt interception reservoirs; • Dam raising of existing reservoirs; • Rehabilitation of water transfer schemes (Irtysh-Karaganda canal); • River/reservoir clean-up projects (Nura river clean-up); • Demand management options (leakage reduction, metering etc); • Improved water and wastewater treatment. Development scenario evaluation module: • Incremental yields for range of options; • Capital and O&M costs for range of options; • Option ranking; • Evaluation of alternative development scenarios; • Identification of optimum least-cost development scenario.

36. River Basin Management Decision Support System Use of the Decision Support System in this Study • Analysis of particular water supply issues relating to: • Astana • Karaganda • Temirtau • Analysis of general water management issues in: • Nura river basin • Ishim river basin • Replication of generalised model into the other six basins: • Irtysh river basin; • Balkash-Alakol river basin; • Shu-Talas river basin; • Tobol-Torgay river basin; • Ural-Caspian river basin; • Syr Darya river basin.

37. Integrated River Basin Management Decision Support System Nura-Ishim Water Resources Planning Model