DROP BY DROP

Access to clean drinking water is arguably one of the most pressing problems facing mankind today. This may be judged from the reports of major international organizations. For example, according to UN forecasts, by 2025 two-thirds of the earth's population will experience a shortage of drinking water. They say that this distressing prognosis is linked mainly to climate change and, as a consequence, the melting of glaciers. But this is on a global scale.  

But what about here?  Is this problem peculiar to Azerbaijan? More than that, what measures are being taken in our country to ensure that the population is supplied with drinking water? We shall try to answer these questions.

A daily pattern

Let us start by saying that the basic part of our country's "water-bearing" infrastructure was established in the 1950s. You have to agree, that is not very reassuring and so there is cause for concern. After all, if the water-supply system is significantly rundown, then a high-quality uninterrupted water supply is out of the question! And indeed, now, in the 21st century, even we, the people of our capital city, have experienced the problems of water supply at first hand.

Meanwhile, the "Azersu" OJSC, the national water-supply operator, assures us that nationwide measures are being taken to quickly eradicate the problems of water-supply, especially as there is every possibility for so doing. First of all, this is facilitated by the income that Azerbaijan receives from the marketing of oil and gas contracts. An example of this is the Oguz-Qabala-Baku (OGB) water pipeline, the construction of which was possible through funding by the Azerbaijan State Oil Fund (SOFAR).  "Azersu" believes that it is due to the OGB that we can now speak about solving the problem of supplying water as planned, as well as increasing the supply time in several districts of the capital simultaneously. The water from Oguz and Qabala has helped to create reserves that are so vital when there are losses and inefficient use, including cases of bypassing the meter or using illegal pipelines.

True enough, the operator does point out that "at the same time work needs to be done to overhaul the capital's water-distribution network", and, basically, this is being done. Judging from reports we have received relating to "Azersu", regular water supplies are already being provided to several parts of the capital.

Thanks to the new pipeline, which stretches from the "+160 Simal" reservoir, 40,000 people living on estates in the Binaqadi and Nasimi Districts of Baku, and also on Prospekt Azadliq, have received water in this way.

Another pipeline, built from the "+110 Sarq" reservoir along E. Suleymanov Street to the Bakixanov District "was a godsend" for people in a part of this district, as well as the "8th Kilometre" residential community, by providing them with unscheduled water.

The commissioning of the new line had a positive impact on the quality of the water supply in the eastern part of Sabuncu and Suraxani Districts. The new pipeline provided constant water supplies to 60,000 inhabitants in the Bakixanov area.

Asked about the capacity of the reservoirs to be a most important part of the water-supply system, "Azersu" said the "+110 Sarq" and "69 Sarq" reservoirs had been overhauled. The replacement of the 700-mm collector with a 1,400-mm one, as well as a collector at the outlet of the "+69 Sarq" reservoir, had helped to increase the collection of water, as well as the speed and volume of its supply to the pipeline network.

There is a saving here, too. Increasing the pressure of water in the pipelines will help to get rid of 44 sub-main pumping stations and their relative reservoirs at one stroke. There is also a saving in electricity. "Aversu" says that the "+110 Sarq" and "+69 Sarq" reservoirs provide drinking water for over 220,000 people in Xatai, Suraxani, Nizami and Sabuncu Districts.

The problem of water supplies to the Hovsani area in Baku's Suraxani District has also been partially resolved. Here, the tower blocks have been receiving water 24 hours a day since last May.

The department is also confident that shortly the greater part of Xatai District, the residential community of "Yeni Gunasli" in Suraxani District, the Bakixanov area in Sabuncu District, and also a part of Nizami District in the capital will be provided with constant supplies of water. This can be expected in the first quarter of 2013.

"In the 2011-2012 period 52% of the area of the capital has been provided with round-the-clock water supplies," "Azersu" says.

There's still a bit to do, though - supplying the remaining 48% of the area… They also have an answer to this: "In 2013 work on overhauling the capital's water redistribution system will be stepped up even more."

There is one other thing that should be mentioned here. Many of "Azersu's" subscribers have been provided with water meters, which suits both parties. Both the consumer and the supplier have the opportunity to control the amount of water they use. In most cases the subscribers are aiming for rational consumption, which in the long run leads to a saving of water resources, and also of expenditure on water production by the operator, including in time and materials - that is electricity consumption, the purification process, transportation and delivery to the end consumer, and so on.

The installation of smart water meters began in Azerbaijan in 2012. Over 15,000 have already been installed, 10,000 of which are not for private citizens but for enterprises, companies, and so on; i.e. major consumers.

In addition, "Azersu" has started taking total control of such important processes as withdrawing meter readings and providing information, invoices and payment of accounts. A pilot project is being carried out together with the management of the Istanbul water treatment company in Baku's Narimanov District, which boils down to this: the district is divided into quarters, and at the same time groups are set up to monitor payments. Information and invoices are supplied to subscribers not by a single controller, but by groups, which enables control activity to be stepped up and transparency increased in this sphere.

If the pilot project is a success the new system will be applied to other districts of Baku as well.

Pipe replaces water carriers

And now a word about the suburbs. According to the "State Programme for the socio-economic development of Baku and its suburbs for 2011-2013", its water-supply and sewage systems will face a major overhaul and the water carriers that we are fed up with should become a relic of the past. According to the document, water-pipe and sewage systems will be created in all the suburbs of Baku before the end of 2013.

Today "Azersu" is overhauling water-supply and sewage systems in 24 villages and townships on the Abseron Peninsula. Furthermore, corresponding projects that provide for the building of new residential communities will be carried out in Baku's suburbs. In other words, the projects are geared towards the long-term. Already today the construction of no less than 10 water-reservoir complexes with an overall volume of 200,000 cum is being carried out to supply water using the gravity flow system," the department says.

Another project to supply water to the suburbs is the construction at the Ceyranbatan complex of water-purification buildings of a state-of-the-art ultrasonic water- purification plant, whose productivity will be 6 cu m of water a second (520,000 cu m a day). The water that is treated in the installation will meet the standards of the World Health Organization, "Azersu" says.

Much has been staked on the Ceyranbatan-Balaxani-Ramana-Zira-Pirallahi trunk water pipeline, which will be 150 km long. It is due to be commissioned this year.

The operator claims that the new water-purification installation at Ceyranbatan, as well as the trunk pipeline, is designed to "radically improve the water supply of residential areas in the eastern part of the Abseron Peninsula".

"Apart from the areas to which water has been supplied as scheduled, the townships of Pirallahi, Zira, Dubendi, Qala, Suvalan, Mardakan and other residential areas will be provided with centralized water supplies. Generally speaking, the pipeline is there to provide drinking water for over one million people on the Abseron Peninsula," the company said.

The residents of the townships of Sabuncu, Balaxani and Zabrat have been luckier - 17,000 people in these areas can already today confirm that water supplies to their townships have improved, "Azersu" claims.

The new "Balaxani" reservoir, with a volume of 80,000 cu m, is being built in the capital's Sabuncu District, which will help to provide a constant supply of drinking water to the townships of Gala, Zira, Turkan, Pirallahi, and others. A pipeline with a diameter of 1,400 mm, will be built to transport water from the Oguz-Qabala-Baku pipeline and Ceyranbatan to the reservoir. Water will be supplied to the townships from the reservoir by natural gravity. 

At the present moment, thanks to orders to "Azersu", simultaneously in 23 towns and districts, as well as over 260 villages and hamlets in Azerbaijan, projects are being implemented aimed at a total improvement in water-supply and sewage systems. Credits from international financial organizations - the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Asian Development Bank and the German Development Bank (KfW) - have given a "start in life" to some of the projects.

Through purification to the sea

The situation regarding the country's sewage network is also on "Azersu's" current agenda. As well as the many negative consequences of the unsatisfactory state of the "underground" infrastructure, including ecological, many people are concerned at the absence on our streets of drains, which often leads to real flooding, especially in the city centre.

Judging from "Azersu's" information, work is being carried out in both areas, i.e. the sewage network is being overhauled and at the same time the installation of rainwater screens is being carried out.

Thus, in 2012 construction of the first mini-tunnel sewage collector in Azerbaijan, 1270 m long, was completed in the hamlet of Bayil in Baku's Sabayil District. Now, running water from the Bayil hills arrives at a treatment plant at "sector 20", which ensures the ecological security of State Flag Square and the new area of the National Coastal Park (boulevard). Some of the water, which has been biologically treated, is used to water gardens and lawns.

A new 1,300m-long collector has also been laid along Hakim Abbasov Street in Yasamal District. It links up to a rain collector at the intersection of A.Abbasov and S.Mehtiyev Streets. This enables rainwater to be directly diverted into the sea without mixing with sewage water.

Similar work has also been carried out in other parts of the capital. The "Sahil" collector, which is the main part of the capital's sewage network, has been completely overhauled and fully cleansed of clay and sand using German technology.

A fundamental approach

With the aim of overhauling the water-supply and sewage systems of the capital and its suburbs to international standards, the "Azersu" OJSC has embarked on developing a master-plan for Greater Baku up to the year 2035. The document is being prepared with the participation of foreign companies that have experience in this sphere. The document covers, among other things, a system for the management of the water and sewage infrastructure and rainwater.