Zentrum für Entwicklungsforschung Center for Development Research ZEF Bonn Economic and Ecological Restructuring of Land and Water Use in Uzbekistan/Khorezm: A Pilot Program in Development Research ZEF Work Papers for Sustainable Development in Central Asia No. 12 Irrigation and Drainage Systems in Khorezm, Uzbekistan by Usman Khalid Awan, Bernhard Tischbein, Christopher Conrad, Murod Sultanov, John P. A. Lamers Urgench, December 2011 ZEF-Uzbekistan working papers contain preliminary material and research results from the ZEF/BMBF/UNESCO-Project on Economic and Ecological Restructuring of Land- and Water Use in the Region Khorezm (Uzbekistan). They are circulated prior to a peer review process to stimulate debate and to disseminate information as quickly as possible. Some of the papers in this series will be reviews and eventually be published in some other form, and their content may also be revised. The sole responsibility for the contents rests with the authors. Project internet site: http://www.khorezm.uni-bonn.de/ Table of content Preface .................................................................................................................................................... 6 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 7 1.1 History of irrigation in Khorezm ............................................................................................. 8 1.2 Evolution of drainage system in the region ........................................................................... 12 1.3 Water distribution structure ................................................................................................... 14 2 Water Consumers Associations (WCAs) ................................................................................. 17 3 Irrigation network and irrigation network density in the region: Technical parameters .......... 18 3.1 Primary canals ....................................................................................................................... 19 3.2 Secondary canals ................................................................................................................... 20 3.3 Tertiary canals ....................................................................................................................... 21 4 Design discharge of canals in different irrigation systems ....................................................... 22 4.1 Overview of the irrigation system ......................................................................................... 23 4.2 Toshsoka irrigation system .................................................................................................... 24 4.3 Palvon- Gazovot irrigation system ........................................................................................ 27 4.4 Shovot-Kulovot irrigation system ......................................................................................... 31 4.5 Karamazi-Kilichbay irrigation system .................................................................................. 37 5 Irrigation network efficiency of some of the main canals ........................................................ 39 6 Lift irrigation schemes in the region ........................................................................................ 41 7 Drainage network in the Khorezm oasis .................................................................................. 41 7.1 Collectors .............................................................................................................................. 42 7.2 Drains .................................................................................................................................... 42 8 Summary and Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 43 9 References ................................................................................................................................ 44 10 Appendix .................................................................................................................................. 45 2 List of Tables Table 1 Change in size of irrigated lands in the Khorezm oasis over time (1000’ ha) ..................... 9 Table 2 Changes in silt content of Amudarya water in 1985 along with the construction of the Tuyamuyun water reservoir (g m-3) .................................................................................. 11 Table 3 Length of the collector drainage system (CDS) of the Khorezm oasis and its estimated network density. The total area taken into consideration is 455,200 hectares (Hydromelioration Expedition, OGME). ........................................................................... 14 Table 4 MK main canal of Toshsoka irrigation system .................................................................. 24 Table 5 R-5 main canal of the Toshsoka irrigation system ............................................................ 25 Table 6 Pitnakarna main canal of the Toshsoka irrigation system ................................................. 25 Table 7 R. Sabirov main canal of the Toshsoka irrigation system ................................................. 26 Table 8 R-8 main canal of Toshsoka irrigation system .................................................................. 27 Table 9 P-9a main canal of Palvon Gazovot irrigation system ...................................................... 27 Table 10 P-9 main canal of Polvon-Gazovot irrigation system ........................................................ 28 Table 11 Nukusa main canal of Polvon-Gazovot irrigation system ................................................. 28 Table 12 Nukus main canal of Polvon-Gazovot irrigation system ................................................... 29 Table 13 Keneges main canal of Polvon-Gazovot irrigation system ............................................... 30 Table 14 Zey-Yop main canal of Polvon-Gazovot irrigation system ............................................... 30 Table 15 Tugay-Yop main canal of Polvon-Gazovot irrigation system .......................................... 31 Table 16 R-7 main canal of Shovot-Kulovot irrigation system ........................................................ 31 Table 17 Urganch-arna main canal of Shovot-Kulovot irrigation system ........................................ 32 Table 18 Daryolik-arna main canal of Shovot-Kulovot Irrigation System ...................................... 33 Table 19 Kulovot main canal of Shovot-Kulovot Irrigation System ................................................ 34 Table 20 Beg Yop main canal of Shovot-Kulovot Irrigation System .............................................. 34 Table 21 "Davdon Yop" main canal of Shovot-Kulovot Irrigation System ..................................... 35 Table 22 Udachi Yop main canal of Shovot-Kulovot Irrigation System ......................................... 35 Table 23 Shovot-Kongli main canal of Shovot-Kulovot Irrigation System ..................................... 36 Table 24 Shovot-Begovot main canal of Shovot-Kulovot Irrigation System ................................... 36 Table 25 KDOK main canal of Shovot-Kulovot Irrigation System ................................................. 37 Table 26 Yangibazar main canal of Karamazi-Kilichbay Irrigation System ................................... 37 Table 27 Alga main canal of Karamazi-Kilichbay Irrigation System .............................................. 38 Table 28 Kengesbaev main canal of Karamazi-Kilichbay Irrigation System .................................. 38 Table 29 Gurlan vetka main canal of Karamazi-Kilichbay Irrigation System ................................. 38 Table 30 Toksan arna main canal of Karamazi-Kilichbay Irrigation System .................................. 39 Table 31 Karakuz main canal of Karamazi-Kilichbay Irrigation System ........................................ 39 Table 32 Irrigation network efficiency of selected main canals ....................................................... 40 Table 33 Lift irrigation schemes in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan .......................................... 41 3 List of Figures Figure 1 Overview of the irrigation and drainage system (source: Conrad, 2006) ............................ 7 Figure 2 Average monthly values of reference evapotranspiration and precipitation (means from 1985-2007) .......................................................................................................................... 8 Figure 3 The Tuyamuyun reservoir complex (Landsat satellite image, August 2010, false color composite, source: USGS, University of Wuerzburg ........................................................ 11 Figure 4 Water distribution structure in the Khorezm oasis of Uzbekistan ..................................... 15 Figure 5 Delineation of the five irrigation management systems in the Khorezm oasis of Uzbekistan ......................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 6 Organizational structure of the Lower Amudarya River Irrigation System Basins Management ...................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 7 Average canal distance from water intake point to the water consumer associations (WCAs) located in Khorezm. ...........................................................................................