80% of the water in Zhambyl region during the growing season comes from Kyrgyzstan through the transboundary rivers Shu (Chu) and Talas, the Committee for Water Resources of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan says.
The committee notes that snow reserves and precipitation in mountainous and foothill areas are predicted to be 72-100% of the average annual norm during the moisture collection period, accoridng to the Kyrgyzhydromet forecast.
“There is a risk for the planned volume. There may be a problem of water shortage when receiving irrigation water. Agricultural producers, taking into account the likelihood of a shortage of water in rivers during the irrigated season, should pay attention to the issues of planting low-water-intensive products, the use of water-saving technologies and the prevention of losses,” the committee notes.
It is planned to receive 222 million cubic meters of water through the Shu (Chu) River, and 520 million cubic meters of water through the Talas River, according to the committee.
The total area of agricultural crops in Zhambyl region exceeds 200,000 hectares. The volume of water required for irrigation is 1,284 million cubic meters.
Source: AKIpress