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74USE AND PROTECTION OF WATER RESOURCES IN UZBEKISTAN: CURRENT STATE AND DEVELOPMENT PATHS Mukhamedieva I.B.1, Rakhimova D.Kh.2, Khalilova B.A.3
1Mukhamedieva Irodakhon Bakhtiyorhuja kizi - Master, DIRECTION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY;
2Rakhimova Dilfuza Khasanbaevna - Teacher;
3Khalilova Barnogul Abdulazizovna - Teacher, DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY, FACULTY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, FERGHANA STATE UNIVERSITY, FERGHANA, REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN
Abstract: the article under discussion discusses use and protection of water resources in Uzbekistan, its current state and development paths. For Uzbekistan, the shortage of water is a very urgent problem which can lead to a social and environmental crisis. Already nowadays, there is a shortage of water not only for agricultural purposes, but also for domestic needs of the population. The authors of the article depicted some recommendations to solve water problems.
Keywords: water resources, development of economic sectors, population, clean drinking water, protection of underground and surface sources, environmental approaches, scientific and technological and demographic problems.
In Uzbekistan, the demand for water is growing day by day as a result of the rapid development of economic sectors and population growth. Naturally, the rational use of limited water resources remains an important issue for Uzbekistan. In this regard, the development of environmental approaches in addressing issues related to industrial and agricultural development, scientific and technological and demographic problems are urgent issues. At the same time, protection of water resources, provision of the population with clean drinking water and rational use of water remain the priority tasks.
Hydropower resources of Uzbekistan account for only 4.92% of the country's total territory, total water resources are 50-60 km3 a year, only 12.2 km3 are formed within the republic, and the rest comes from outside - from the Tien Shan and Pamir-Altai mountains, from melting snows and glaciers in summer [2].The main part of water resources goes for irrigation of cotton fields.
Currently, the Republic of Uzbekistan has water supply systems in 120 cities (100%), 112 urban settlements and district centers (99.1%); in 9,213 rural settlements (77.8%). Coverage of the urban population with piped water was 93.1%. Centralized water supply systems cover 79,1% of the rural population. Water supply is based on surface water and, mainly, on groundwater. Due to uneven distribution of fresh groundwater reserves, there is an acute shortage of drinking water in western districts of the republic (Karakalpakstan, Khorezm and Bukhara provinces, western districts of Samarkand, Kashkadarya, Djizak, and Surkhandarya provinces). Earlier (15-20 years ago) groundwater of the mentioned regions met the drinking water requirements. However, the intensive development of new lands, additional discharges of collector-drainage and discharge waters from irrigation fields, and discharges of water from industrial enterprises into water bodies have resulted in a significant increase in the mineralization of surface and associated groundwater.
Comprehensive measures on protection of underground and surface sources of fresh water are implemented in the republic. In particular, since 2002 a number of works on defining water protection zones and coastal strips of eight rivers (Kashkadarya, Zaravshan, Chirchik, Surkhandarya, Naryn, Karadarya, Amudarya and Syrdarya) are carried out and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic adopted eight resolutions on them. In the water protection zones of the Amu Darya, Kashkadarya, Zaravshan, Chirchik, Surkhandarya,
Naryn and Karadarya rivers, 247 potentially dangerous objects were identified, and 219 of them were taken outside the protection zones.
The population of 78 towns, 39 urban-type settlements and 105 rural settlements are provided with centralized sewerage systems and 105 rural settlements. The sewerage part of the population, through municipal sewage treatment plants, discharges treated wastewater into water bodies and sands. Inefficient operation of sewage treatment plants, their overloading in some cases leads to inadequate wastewater treatment and pollution of the environment. Non-sewered part of the population discharges fecal and domestic wastewater into irrigation and collector-drainage network or into storage tanks. Since less than 40% of sewage is treated, it pollutes watercourses and deepens the problem of drinking water supply in settlements. In order to improve sanitary conditions for the population and prevent the spread of dangerous infections, the decontamination of sanitary waste and sewage from households is among the priority tasks [3].
Based on the above problems, in order to improve the drinking water supply and sanitation of settlements, it is necessary to take measures to:
• ensuring protection of drinking water supply sources from pollution and depletion;
• providing hard-to-reach and remote rural settlements with drinking water;
• preventing water pollution in the formation zone, restoring the balance between the amount of fertilizers introduced into the soil and the capacity of crops to assimilate them;
• providing primary treatment of urban wastewater with subsequent transition to biological treatment in large cities (introduction of reliable individual and group methods of sanitation, including the introduction of integrated facilities for processing liquid domestic waste with the production of biogas and fertilizers)
• improving the systems of treatment for industrial and domestic sewage;
• improving the system of sanitary purification of settlements and cities.
Solving these issues and implementing the strategic goals of transition to green economy in the water and land sector will contribute to improving the current situation and eliminating future risks at the national and global levels.
Based on the priorities of structural transformation according to the results of the preliminary analysis carried out by the Center for Economic Research, the following sectors were selected as key economic sectors with high potential for "greening" in Uzbekistan: energy, water resources, land resources, waste.
In this connection, measures were taken to improve land and water resources management:
• a legislative framework for the rational use of water and land resources has been established;
• in order to improve water resources quality management, the work on improvement of water quality requirements and their compliance with international standards is carried out;
• the normative legal base and institutional structure of water quality management in the Republic of Uzbekistan were reviewed and analyzed;
• principles of integrated water resources use on separate basins of large rivers are introduced.
One of the main measures to protect water resources from the harmful effects of industrial, construction, transport, agricultural and other objects is to give the status of water protection zones and coastal strips of large rivers, as well as the removal of potentially environmentally dangerous objects from the protected water protection zones.
Targeted work on careful use of water resources is carried out: more water-intensive crops are replaced by less water-intensive ones, large-scale reconstruction and construction of reclamation facilities, rehabilitation of main canals, collectors, drainage networks, pumping stations, drip irrigation systems are introduced with organization of production of
appropriate domestic equipment, direct public investments are allocated to improve reclamation conditions and develop engineers.
Besides, the Government of Uzbekistan has developed a concept of integrated development of Uzbekistan until 2030 [4]. As stated in the document in the medium term (2019-2025) in the water sector it is planned:
• stage introduction of market mechanisms in the sphere of water consumption, as well as the principles of public-private partnership in the operation of water management facilities of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
• development of irrigation systems through the construction and reconstruction of canals, irrigation flume network, hydraulic structures, and pressure pipelines.
The government also plans to provide 100% of the population with quality drinking water by 2030.
In conclusion it should be noted that taking into account needs of future generation, our main objective is to treat water with care, introduce development and use of innovative water saving technologies, rational use of water resources, protect water from pollution.
References
1. Abdurakhmanova I.K., Vafoev R. State and use of land and water resources of Uzbekistan (irrigated agriculture) // Vestnik Prikaspii. № 4. November, 2017.
2. Gusev L.Y. Water and energy problems in Central Asia and possible ways to solve them // Bulletin of MGIMO University, 2013. 6 (33). С. 36.
3. Mukhamedieva I.B., Kholmatova Yо.N., Ibragimova Z.J. Disinfection of water for drinking: ozone disinfection method. // Достижения науки и образования, 2021. № 1 (73). [Electronic Resource]. URL: https://scientifictext.ru/images/PDF/2021/73/DNO-1-73-.pdf/ (date of access: 09.04.2021).
4. [Electronic Resource]. URL: https://regulation.gov.uz/ru/document/8839/ (date of access: 09.04.2021).
5. Zakharova K. Water and energy problems in Central Asia at the present stage // Problems of the post-Soviet space, 2018. 5 (3). Р. 302.
