Regional characteristics of water use in conditions of water scarcity in steppe transboundary river basins (the Ural River basin as a case study)

Abstract

The regional features of water use within the steppe biome and in conditions of water scarcity is analysed. It has established a steady trend of increasing summer temperature extremes and identified a trend in the seasonal distribution of precipitation. Rivers of the Ural River basin are found to be characterized by a decline in the percentage of spring flood runoff and an increase in the percentage of low-water seasonal runoff. This transformation of intra-annual flow is even more significant for rivers with a regulated regime. The paper defines also regional specific features concerning the use of water resources in the Ural River basin. In the Russian regions, the main portion of water resources is spent on industrial and utilities needs, and the minimum portion spent on the needs of agriculture. Another specific is a high portion of recycled water in the Russian regions, which confirms the rather efficient use of water resources in various economy sectors. The structure of water consumption in Kazakhstan regions is characterized by predominance of water use for industrial and utilities needs and preservation of a significant portion of water for agricultural supply. The results obtained show that an ambiguous and poorly predicted situation with water resources emerges in the transboundary basin of the Ural River. In this context, the priority task is to ensure the cost-effective and environmentally safe use of water resources in regions of the studied basin.