By 2025, the authorities of Kazakhstan are planning to provide 100 per cent of people with quality drinking water. However, experts doubt these plans. Currently, 1,543 villages have no access to quality drinking water. Some villages have outdated water pipes, some of which were built 50 years ago.
By results of 2021, according to the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development, access to water supply services is 96 per cent across the country and 93 per cent in villages.
“For as long as I can remember, we have always had water issues. This is how we get water from the well or pipes. We have water access for few hours a day, and we have to get it on time. Sometimes, we use the same water to take a bath and to do the laundry. It’s very difficult in winter because water freezes and we do our best to find a way out. We don’t have much money to buy bottled water because we have a big family. And also I have a back pain because I must carry water every day,” Aigul Serikova, a resident of Uzunkol district of Kostanai region, said.
The same situation is in the village of Koksai, Almaty region. Natalia Solntseva came here to visit her grandmother, who took out a loan to get her internal plumbing installed.
“It took us nearly 150 thousand tenge (312 dollars) to get the internal plumbing installed. We also bought the water tap and utility meter. It’s very sad that pensioners have to get internal plumbing themselves. Before, they had to take water from the well and carry it by a bogie or ask neighbours’ children to do that. Despite the 21st century, we have to do everything by ourselves,” Solntseva said.
But even in the villages with water supply installed, water quality does not always conform to standards.
“The village of Kyrgauyldy is located near Almaty, yet the drinking water issue still exists. Over 200 families living in our region were supposed to take water from the well purchased by a sole proprietor. For this end, every family raised 450 thousand tenge (936 dollars) and signed a contract. Now we don ‘t have the well, and we take water from the spring,” villager Dildar Mamyrbaeva said.
At the government hour on June 17, the speaker of the lower chamber of parliament, Yerlan Koshanov, admitted that over half a million of Kazakhstanis have no access to pure drinking water. However, programmes to supply drinking water to people have been developed in the last 30 years.
The first programme “Drinking water” was launched in 1998. It was meant for 2002-2010. 7,231 settlements, 174 villages and 86 cities and towns had to have normal water supply systems, and the level of water supply should have increased up to 80 per cent. 2 billion dollars have been spent.
Ak Bulak programme for 2011-2020. 1st phase – 2011-2015. 2nd phase – 2016-2020. 951,490.3 million tenge (nearly 2 billion dollars) were allocated from the budget. The programme purpose is to ensure access to central water supply in rural areas by 80% and in small towns by 100 per cent.
Nurly Zher programme is projected for 2020-2025. 111.5 billion tenge (232 million dollars) was allocated. The programme purpose is to ensure 100 per cent access of people to water supply in cities and villages by 2025. To reduce wear and tear of heat, water supply and discharge by 47 per cent by 2025.
According to minister of industry and infrastructure development Kairbek Uskenbaev, the least level of coverage with drinking water in rural areas is in Kostanai (64.7 per cent), East Kazakhstan (81.4 per cent), North Kazakhstan (82.1 per cent), and Zhambyl (82.2 per cent) regions. He voiced these figures at the round table discussion on water supply.
According to the authorities, one of the reasons of drinking water shortage is the water negligence. In turn, it has led to high consumption rates given the low selling price. However, according to Maksat Temirlanov, head of Taza-Suu, the main reasons for drinking water shortage is the worn infrastructure, lack of innovations in water supply system construction, and corruption.
“No one knows exactly how much money allocated for water supply of Kazakhstanis was spent and on what. […] Some responsible officials have been imprisoned, and MPs have raised this issue several times in the parliament. But the problem is still urgent. Everything is fine on paper, in reports, but in fact the situation is different,” he said.
Parliamentarians emphasise the shortage of staff in this sphere. According to Yedil Zhanbyrshin, deputy of Mazhilis, in the 1990s, this industry had 38 thousand specialists, and now their number has decreased 7 times. Out of 11,525 specialists trained under the Bolashak programme, only 25 are related to water industry, and 9 of them work in this sphere.
According to ecologist Arailym Sapar, Kazakhstan must reduce water dependency on neighbours and develop a system approach to resolve the water shortage issue.
“For this end, nine large water reservoirs are going to be built. But we need a uniform regulator to lay out plans. The Water Code norms have been amended 72 times. Another problem is the frequent change of ministers in the country, and because of that no programme has ever been implemented in full. This issue needs a multipronged approach,” Sapar said.
According to expert forecasts, by 2040 Kazakhstan’s water requirement will increase by 46 per cent, and the deficit can amount to 12 cubic kilometres per year. At the same time, members of parliament doubt the feasibility of the Nurly Zher programme. According to MP Ekaterina Smyshlyaeva, it is unlikely that Kazakhstan will ensure 100 per cent access of people to pure drinking water by 2025.
“All what has been planned for 2022 will be implemented. However, there are some issues. The ministry of finance exceeded the limit of financing and some projects had to be postponed for 2024-2025. Therefore, only 91 villages out of 120 will have access to water next year. Because of untimely allocation of funds, works will start only in autumn, and contractors will not manage to perform all their works before cold season begins,” Smyshlyaeva said.