Utilization of the water resources of the Amu-Darya basin for development of the productive forces of central ASIAN republics

Abstract

In solving problems of the further development of the productive forces and economy of CentralAsian union republics, exceptional importance is given to the further utilization of the water resources of the Amu-Darya, the largest river in Central Asia. Its length from the confluence of the two main headwater rivers, the Vakhsh and Pyandzh, is 1445 km and from theheadwaters of the Pyandzh 2570 kin; the natural discharge, formed on a catchment area of 226,800 km ~, is estimated to be 70-72 km 3. As a consequence of withdrawing water from the rivers forming the Amu-Darya (Vakhsh, Pyandzh. Kaffrnigan, Surkban-Darya, etc.), i,~ discharge at the site of the city of Kerki decreases to 64 km 3 and after diverting water into the numerous canals in the middle and lower stretches only 30-32 km s eater the delta. The scale of water management construction in the Amu-Darya basin is determined primarily by the increase in the water needs of various branches Of the national economy and development of the water management system on the whole. The Amu-Darya with the rivers forming it is being utilized for the development of irrigated farming (mainiy in the middle and lower courses) and waterpower resources (in the upper part of the basin). Irrigation and water power engineering are the components forming the Amu-Darya water management system. Irrigation. By the beginning of 1971, 2.3 millionha were irrigated in the Amu-Darya basin, including the closed drainage rivers which do not carry their waters to it CLarafshan, Murgab, Tedzhen, etc.), and 2.34 million ha in the Syr-Darya basin. The possibilities of further development of irrigation in these basins are determined by the extent and relationship of water and land resources (Table 1). The water-land balances, compiled for the foreseeable future, show that in the union republics it is possible to irrigate from all the rivers of the Amu-Darya 5.2 million ha and of the Syr-Darya 3.3 million ha. Thus the lands exceed the irrigation capacity of the rivers of the Amu-Darya basin by almost 2.5 times and-of the Syr-Darya by 4 times. An analysis of the dynamics of the increase of irrigated lands during the past 15 years, which objectively reflects the totality of natural, management, economic, and other factors, shows (Table 2) that the rate of increase of irrigated lands averages about "/fro per quinquennia in Central Asia and 9% in the past quinquennium. The land realamation program calis for bringing irrigated areas in the Central Asian republics to 7.8 million ha, which requires an increase in the rate of increment of new lands, organization of irrigation and realamation works on an increasing scale, and measures for regulating and distributing the runoff of the rivers.