Kura river has sharply shallowed

Baku/10.03.23/Turan: Residents of Salyan and Neftchala regions told Turan that the decline in water level of the Kura river has caused serious damage to agriculture.

"The water level in Kura has dropped to such an extent that washing clothes is not possible at all. It is also hampering the operation of water pumps, which are badly damaged. Since we cannot irrigate our plantations, we already have too much damage. The villagers also argue that the decline in the level of the Kura river is due to the agri-parks that have been set up. "Since there are large farms there, all the water goes there and the water level has dropped as a result."

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources said there is little water in Kura and its branches during winter. "In addition, due to climatic changes, the water level in Kura has been falling for the past four years. The volume of water in Kura is expected to grow from the end of March".

The Ministry said that the water level in Kura is constantly monitored.

The Ministry of Agriculture told Turan that this issue is not in the competence of the agency, but in the competence of "Amelioration and Water Management" OJSC.

In turn, "Amelioration and Water Management" OJSC told Turan that due to global climate changes, the consequences of which are observed all over the world, including our country, during warm months of the year drop in water volume in the Kura and Araz rivers, which comprise the most part of country's water resources, and complete drying up of overwhelming majority of mountainous rivers is observed. "Given that about half of our country's territory is in an arid climate zone, this impact is expected to intensify further amid the population growth and agricultural development."

According to the Ministry, "if we look at past years, we can see that the volume of water flowing into the Mingachevir reservoir during flood periods is 15-16 billion cubic metres and 8-9 billion cubic metres during low-water years; however, in recent years this figure has declined to 6-7 billion cubic metres". According to the forecast, the country's water resources are expected to decline by 20-25 per cent in 2020-2050. Given all this, there is a great need for economical and efficient use of water resources, their conservation and protection."

 "Amelioration and Water Management" OJSC stated that the reduction of water consumption by the rivers feeding the Mingechevir reservoir, together with the growth in agricultural areas in the service zone of Upper Karabakh and Upper Shirvan canals, fed by the Mingechevir reservoir, as well as the Kura river, is expected to reduce by 20-25 percent from 2020 to 2050.  Given all this, there is a great need for economical and efficient use of water resources, their conservation and protection."

The company stated that the reduction of water consumption by the rivers feeding the Mingechevir reservoir, along with the growth in agricultural areas in the service zone of Upper Karabakh and Upper Shirvan canals, fed by the Mingechevir reservoir and the Kura river, has led to certain difficulties in recent years, especially for farmers, who are at the end of irrigation canals.  "A similar situation is currently observed in Salyan and Neftchala regions at the end of Kura.  Growing water demand in the regions at the end of the Kura river results in sharp decrease of water use of the river amid climatic changes".

It was stressed that the melting of glaciers in the mountainous areas in March-April, including the increases in the volume of water currently discharged from the Mingachevir reservoir downstream, offered hope for a solution. "However, one of the most important factors among the measures to combat climate change remains the human factor. Thus, in the course of our monitoring this year, it was noted that most of the land plots were not being levelled, while specialists of the company explained to them that this leads to a sharp increase in water loss."

The agency said another reason identified was failure to comply with site irrigation technology. "In most cases, farmers open water from one end of the field and close it when it reaches the other side, axial ditches, irrigation strips are not used during irrigation, no division into canals inside the field is made.

The company reported that very limited irrigation is performed at night in the country. "Thus, watering cold soil in the evening or at night evaporates less water than watering warm soil during the day. Thus the plants can get enough water before the next day's heat. But the same situation is observed with night watering, where in some cases irrigation water supplied to the field by farmers in the evening is left unattended until the morning".

Furthermore, the effect of climate change is predicted to intensify in the coming years. "Each of us must try to use limited water resources sparingly and sustainably. We urge farmers, who are the largest users of water resources in this direction, to strictly adhere to rules on timely ploughing, levelling, dividing crops into intra-cropping channels, timely sowing of crops in accordance with agronomic rules to reduce water wastage, as well as increase use of progressive irrigation technologies."

It was pointed out that all measures implemented by the state, including construction of reservoirs, repair, rehabilitation and reconstruction of irrigation canals, efficiency of all operational works directly depend on the rational use of water by farmers. "If today we are facing quite serious water shortage as compared to a few years ago, we should be ready for the projected further reduction of water resources coming into our country by another 35-40 per cent. We must be educated on this issue - every person, every water user must change their traditional water use habits and be responsible for avoiding water loss. Every citizen, regardless of the region in which he lives, the industry in which he works, should know that every drop of water he saves today in the household or agriculture plays a direct role in creating a sustainable water reserve for years to come, for future generations."

Agriculture expert Vahid Magerramli said that if serious measures are not taken as soon as possible, Azerbaijan is in for a disaster. "Climate change has occurred in the world and therefore not only in Azerbaijan, but also in a number of countries, there is a shortage of water. Water in Azerbaijan is formed by precipitation and snowfall in the mountains. Quite a lot of snow fell in the mountains, its reserves were formed there and then slowly melted, the melted water also flowed into the rivers. Azerbaijan met 70 percent of its water needs from the Kura and Araz rivers".

Many years ago, he said, the country had 33 billion cubic metres of water resources, of which 23 billion cubic metres came from the Kura and Araz rivers. "And now these reserves have shrunk by several times. Of course, the Kura will not dry up completely, it is true that there will be a water shortage, but when the rains come, the volume of water will increase. There has been climate change and global warming. Years ago the snow in the mountains started melting intensively and there is less snow and now there is almost no snow left in the mountains. Turkey and Georgia, on the other hand, have created large water reservoirs at the source of Kura to meet their own needs. So the water flowing into Azerbaijan has sharply dropped".

The expert said that in order to solve the problem, all farms should have their own water reservoirs so that farmers can use it when needed. "When it rains, water is collected in these tanks, which are also used for planting at later stages. We have been making this proposal for many years, even President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree in this regard, but then nothing came of it."

According to Vahid Maharramli, Azerbaijan has also raised the need for food, as the country's population is growing. "That is why the areas under crops have also been expanded. Over the past 20 years the area under crops has expanded by 400.000 hectares. However, the oligarch officials have expanded the area under crops at the expense of pastures by doing irrigation works there. In so doing, they are taking away water from the peasants, which has already become scarce. -0-