Integrated water resources management

Water Management

Water is one of the most important resources, and it is also very limited and difficult to replenish. And as experience has shown, even with minimal "replenishment," like this spring, we can barely cope.

The Water Code of Kazakhstan is currently being drafted, and it seems that the creation of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI) is considered a panacea for water problems.

However, looking from the outside, water has far more stakeholders, and this is evident, at the very least, from consumption patterns.

Agriculture consumes about 65% of all water used in the country. This is approximately 13 cubic kilometers of water per year. Almost this entire volume is used for irrigating fields and growing crops.

Industry ranks second in water consumption, using about 24%, or approximately 4.8 cubic kilometers of water per year. This includes water use in metallurgy, mining, ore processing, and energy.

Drinking needs and domestic use account for about 6% of total water consumption, equivalent to approximately 1.2 cubic kilometers of water per year.

Does one need to be a genius analyst or have their own satellites to understand what is more important – using less water to "brush your teeth," or fixing leaks in canals and regulating the "black market" for irrigation water?

The answer is obvious, no matter how much foreigners might faint at our tooth-brushing process.

Furthermore, not a single strategy takes into account the "water footprint" – the amount of water needed to produce goods and services. There is a mention of the phrase in a KazMunayGas report, but without details.

Or take the export of grains, vegetables, and fruits. It seems we are selling wheat, tomatoes, and watermelons, but if you look deeper, we are actually selling water, solar energy, and human labor.

Now let's talk about the water we use as indirect consumption:

- Industry: Water use in production processes (cleaning, cooling, etc.).

- Energy: Cooling thermal power plants and generating hydropower.

- Digital Industry: Cooling and maintaining temperature conditions in data centers.

- Agriculture: Field irrigation, water for livestock, production of fertilizers and pesticides, processing and transportation of agricultural products, processing of meat and dairy products, and even diesel fuel, the production of which requires significant water resources.

So, will the MWRI be effective with such a large number of stakeholders? I doubt it. An integrated approach is needed here, taking into account all areas as a single state interest. Otherwise, with too many cooks, the broth will not only be spoiled but completely ruined.

"If you criticize, offer a solution," officials usually tell me. So let's do that.

Why is an integrated approach needed?

An integrated approach can help not only to move synchronously but also to set up efficient consumption, reduce the water footprint of produced goods, or at least start measuring it, solve many environmental impact issues, and generally help with the rational use of water in the long term.

Water conservation, a low water footprint, ecology, and sustainable development – are these good goals?

Yes. But to achieve them, the following ministries must be involved in the development of strategies and basic documents of the MWRI:

Ministry of Trade – accounting for the water footprint when developing trade strategies and policies.

For example, introducing tariffs to protect local producers, taking into account competitive advantages in water footprint compared to other countries. For instance, we use 10 times more water for wheat than China, and for soybeans, the ratio is smaller but still higher. As I wrote earlier, we are essentially selling water, sun, and labor, not plants, so water must also be accounted for. At the very least, we need to understand where we are competitive and where we are giving away water for free without even realizing it.

Ministry of Digital Development – servicing data centers. It is a valid question whether Kazakhstan has water-cooled data centers and whether the issue of efficient use of these facilities will be addressed at all.

Ministry of Energy – optimizing water use in the energy sector.

Ministry of Industry – production of chemicals and fertilizers, mining industry, development of Taldykol and other lakes – water interests need to be considered everywhere.

Ministry of Ecology – everything depends on water for them, be it forests or saiga and argali. Efficiency issues here should be a top priority.

Ministry of Agriculture – the issue of production costs and labor, rational use of water in crop production, livestock farming, and processing.

Water is the most important resource, which is far from infinite, and if we want to manage it effectively, we will have to set up inter-agency communications and build an integrated approach. Otherwise, we will significantly accelerate the arrival of water scarcity.