Water Use in Uzbekistan’s Segment of the Zarafshan River: Analytical Review

Abstract

The Zarafshan River is one of the main water supply sources for different sectors of Uzbekistan’s national economy. The article aims to analyze water resources use in the Zarafshan River Basin, including calculating the amount of water that can be saved by introducing water-efficient irrigation technologies; testing the hypothesis of the possibility of restoring the Zarafshan’s runoff as a tributary of the Amudarya River, as it was in ancient time; reviewing the experience of developed countries in injecting wastewater into deep aquifers, and the possibility of introducing the corresponding practices in Uzbekistan. The distance from the Zarafshan to the Amudarya was calculated based on the map, and turned out that today it is 127 km. The deployment of water-efficient technologies will allow saving enough water and calculating the water volume necessary for restoring the runoff. The study results show that the saved water will be enough to restore the Zarafshan’s runoff, as well as to develop new irrigated land. The study findings likewise not only confirm the hypothesis of restoring the Zarafshan’s runoff up to the Amudarya, thus increasing the river’s water content, but also demonstrate that the saved water can be used to irrigate new farmland that can be further used for growing orchards and vineyards.