The water level in the northeastern part of the Caspian Sea (Atyrau region, Kazakhstan) increased by 119 cm in 2024. This was due to the abundant discharge of flood water along the Zhaiyk River in April-May, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan reports.
For several years now, environmentalists from different countries have been sounding the alarm about the shallowing of the Caspian Sea, and against the backdrop of disappointing forecasts, news about the increase in the water level in the sea has caused optimism.
The main influx of flood water in April-May 2024 came from the Zhaiyk River and through specially laid additional channels.
“During the floods, about 7.4 billion cubic meters of water entered the Caspian Sea via the Zhaiyk River. To direct the flood water to the sea, the Kazvodkhoz branch in the Atyrau region used additional channels. Through them, 350 million cubic meters of water arrived in the Caspian Sea,”
the message says.
It is known that Kazvodkhoz employees carried out cleaning, strengthening and other work on each created canal.
“For example, an additional 14.5 km long canal was dug along the Sokolok canal, through which water was also directed to the Caspian Sea,” the department noted.
Vice Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurlan Aldamzharov said that in addition to reservoirs, Lake Balkhash and the Northern Aral Sea were filled with flood water.
“Since the beginning of the floods, 3.3 billion cubic meters of water have been sent to Lake Balkhash. In addition, the active filling of the Northern Aral Sea continues, where more than 1.1 billion cubic meters of water have arrived since the beginning of the year,” said Vice Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurlan Aldamzharov.
Thus, today the volume of water in the Northern Aral Sea is 21.4 billion cubic meters.
At the 86th meeting of the Interstate Coordination Water Management Commission, which includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the parties agreed that 997 million cubic meters of water will flow into the Northern Aral during the irrigation season, and the inflow will be at least 30 cubic meters per second. Currently, 50 cubic meters of water per second flows into the sea. A year ago, the inflow was 6 cubic meters per second.
https://orda.kz/uroven-kaspijskogo-morja-uvelichilsja-bolshe-chem-na-metr-388466/
Позитивные новости для Каспия: уровень моря в Казахстане поднялся более чем на метр
