Stop thinking how to sell water, better try to put an end to its losses!

On March 17 this year, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the “Rules for the paid use of water in the Republic of Azerbaijan”. The Cabinet of Ministers justified this decision by the need to ensure the implementation of previously adopted laws and regulations, orders, decrees regarding the use of water resources. The document adopted by the government notes: “The purpose of paid water use is to reimburse public expenditures aimed at water supply, ensure the functioning of water management enterprises, departments and organizations in accordance with the principle of self-financing, create a material interest in the efficient and economical use of water resources and improve water protection, maintaining accurate water accounting and investment in the water sector”.

The Cabinet of Ministers instructed the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources to prepare and submit within three months proposals on the mechanism of payments for the volume of water withdrawn by legal entities or individuals directly withdrawing water from water bodies and, within two months, determine the payment for water use (tariffs) in accordance with the Rules, approved by the Tariff (price) Council.

An adviser to the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, trying to justify this decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, told the press that the absence of a definition of the value of water as a natural resource in the country so far, as well as promotion of its rational use, complicated the accurate accounting and assessment of water. Imagine that over the past 30 years, many documents related to the use of water have been adopted, changes have been made to the adopted documents several times, the Water Code, the “Regulations on the rules for paid water use in the Republic of Azerbaijan”, the order “On additional measures to ensure the efficient use of water” have been signed. water resources”, and now it turned out that, so far, the value of water as a natural resource has not been established in the country. After 30 years, it was found that "the lack of a definition of the value of water as a natural resource in the country not only did not contribute to the economical use of water, but also made it difficult to maintain accurate accounting and water assessment." I don't want to waste your time commenting on this absurd approach.

The approved rules provide for free use of water. This is:

• Water facilities, access to which is open to all, individuals for their own needs (swimming, boating, sports, amateur fishing and amateur catching of aquatic biological resources, watering places, water abstraction without the use of technical means, etc.);
• landowners can carry out drilling, exploitation of wells of the first unconfined aquifer, which are not a source of centralized water supply, to meet their own needs within their land plots;
• it is allowed to withdraw from all reservoirs the volume of water required for the needs of fire protection.

Clause 2 of the Rules provides for the paid use of water taken from water bodies. So, in paragraph 2.1 of the rules, it is indicated that payment is made directly by legal entities or individuals who take water from reservoirs for special purposes using technical devices and equipment, in accordance with the volume of water taken. I would like to remind you that the Water Code defines the concept of a water body. A water body is a geological structure or a naturally formed concentration of waters on the surface of the land in the forms of its relief or in the bowels, which has boundaries, volume and features of the water regime. Therefore, according to the new rules, individuals and legal entities must make payments for the amount of water taken from the surface of the earth, from lakes, canals, rivers or from the bowels of the earth using pumps, water engines, and other technical devices and equipment. Imagine that you are drilling an artesian well at your own expense on your land, laying a power line, paying for the use of electricity, and after all this, you are charged for the water you use. As they say, the government "cuts the coupons." Before adopting such rules, the government must take into account the high costs of farmers and entrepreneurs using artesian wells for the electricity they use, for the repair of transformers and pumps. Since the production costs of farmers using water from artesian wells are high, the value of their crops is high, and profitability is low. From now on, individuals and legal entities also have to make payments for the volume of water they take from lakes, canals and rivers, using pumps, other technical devices and equipment. It should be noted that, unlike in previous years, in 2021, due to a serious shortage of water, most cotton farmers were forced to make additional costs. For example, many cotton growers used diesel-powered water pumps to use water collected in collectors built to drain groundwater from irrigated lands. According to the information of cotton farmers, an additional 300 manats had to be spent on the purchase of diesel fuel used for 3-fold irrigation of 1 hectare sown with cotton, or on the equipment needed to use the pump. It turns out that from now on, farmers and peasants will also have to pay for the amount of water they use with the use of technical devices and equipment. It should be noted that in paragraph 5 of the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 122 of March 3, 1992 “On the application of payments for natural resources, payments for emissions of pollutants into the environment and the use of funds generated from these payments”, the objects of the agro-industrial complex - water intake from surface natural sources for irrigation were exempted from payments in order to prevent possible negative social consequences in connection with this.

According to another paragraph of the Rules adopted by the government, "the volume of water to be transferred to subjects and consumers of water is determined taking into account the capabilities of the water source and irrigation system, and is indicated in the contract concluded between the parties." The volume of water that will be supplied to the subjects and users of water will not be determined by their needs, but taking into account the capabilities of the irrigation system. That is, in the water supply of consumers, there will still be uncertainty. This paragraph of the rules does not take into account the satisfaction of consumer demand. There are no obligations to the water supply organization regarding the full satisfaction of the consumer's needs.

For the purpose of efficient and economical use of water resources, the adopted document provides for accurate water accounting. And although the meter that determines the volume of water supplied to consumers has not been installed, subparagraphs 4.3.5 and 5.5 of the document stipulate that the volume of water supply is approved by the relevant act between the legal entity that supplies water to its consumer. This means that in any case it will not be possible to keep accurate records of the water used by the consumer.

According to paragraph 5.3 of the Rules, for irrigation water supplied to sown areas, the WUA (Water Users Association - NGO) sets a free price that does not exceed the approved water use fee (tariff). At this point, too, there is uncertainty. And this uncertainty in paragraph 5.3 of these Rules creates opportunities for manipulation by the OPV (the right to freely set prices).

What is the situation with irrigation water?

According to WRI forecasts (World Natural Resources Institute) by 2040, the problem of water scarcity will arise in a fifth of the countries of the world. For example, climate change disrupts the cycle of rainfall, and population growth increases the need for water. In the report presented by WRI, Azerbaijan is also mentioned among the countries that will face the threat of drought. Azerbaijan in this list is on the 18th place in the list, consisting of 33 countries. The fact that our country is somewhere in the middle of the list does not mean that during the period of water shortage we will have the same problems as neighboring countries. The problem is that with the availability of water resources at least 4-5 times greater than the needs of the country, the need for irrigation water is not satisfied, and the fact that Azerbaijan is in 18th place in this list is dangerous because water losses extremely high in the country. As already noted, the issue of fresh water shortage in the world has already become an urgent problem. Some countries have succeeded in solving the problem by overcoming wasteful use of irrigation water. For example, if at the end of the last century Israel used 1.24 billion cubic meters of irrigation water, thanks to the efforts of the government in subsequent years, through the use of new modern technologies, it increased the efficiency of water use. Thus, in recent years they have reduced the volume of irrigation water used to 1.12 billion cubic meters.

Population growth in Azerbaijan and the growing demand for food products cause an increase in the area of ​​irrigated land. Existing resources make it possible to increase the area of ​​irrigated land up to 4 million hectares. However, the problems that exist in this area and have not been solved hinder the realization of this potential. The country uses water resources inefficiently and, in this scenario, the expansion of irrigated land will lead to even greater water losses. In the statistical information provided by the State Committee on Statistics of Azerbaijan, related to water consumption and losses, Azerbaijan with 28.3% of water losses from natural sources is in first place among the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Table 1. Water from natural sources, its consumption, losses (million cubic meters)

In the CIS countries, water losses in 2019 amounted to: in Armenia - 25%, in Kazakhstan - 13%, in Ukraine - 14%, in Russia - 11.6%, in Moldova - 7%, in Belarus - 5%.

Unfortunately, Azerbaijan cannot effectively use the existing water resources. Rainwater collection in the country is also not organized. The resulting rainwater and during floods, part of the water can be collected in tanks, reservoirs and, if necessary, used for irrigation or as drinking water. Unfortunately, the existing reservoirs and lakes have been seized by oligarch officials and are being used for other purposes. Farmers, peasants do not allow the use of water from these reservoirs. And, remaining from the Soviet times, the reservoirs in the farms, due to a long lack of repair, went out of order, fell into disrepair.

The "Strategic Road Map" and the website of the "Melioration and Water Management of Azerbaijan" OJSC state that at present the average annual water deficit in the country is 3.7 km³. Look, the volume of water that is lost during the transportation of water from natural sources is 3.7 km3. It should also be noted that Azerbaijan's need for irrigation water as a whole does not exceed 3.7 km³. With the efficient use of the country's water resources of 3.7 km³ of irrigation water, Azerbaijan can satisfy its needs for food and agricultural products by 100%. The government should not charge for water use from individuals trying to get water from lakes, rivers, canals to meet their needs, through the use of pumps and other devices. The government should not puzzle over how to sell the country's underground and surface water to the population, but put an end to water losses.

The authorities should create conditions for the activities of private enterprises providing alternative water supply in the country. Thus, the creation of private enterprises that can pipe water from existing sources for crop areas should be encouraged.