THIRST FOR RECOVERY

Global desertification ongoing in many regions of the planet, as well as the frequent droughts and deficit of irrigation water are relevant for Azerbaijan too. These negative processes have noticeably intensified in recent years. In spring-summer of 2020, the shallowing of the Kura and Araz basins caused problems with irrigation and water supply in a number of regions.

However, the great victory of Azerbaijan in the Second Garabagh War, which restored the territorial integrity of the country, returned strategically and environmentally important reservoirs that will contribute to solving the above problems in short time.

Dangerous dynamics

A significant part of the territory of Azerbaijan is located in the zone of risky farming. The decreasing level of precipitation in the Greater Caucasus in recent decades and the drying up of rivers and springs in the foothills, drought and a lack of water for irrigation in low-lying regions due to the decreased levels of the Kura and Araz rivers, salinization and soil erosion are some of the problems challenging the local farmers almost every year.

According to Azerbaijani scientists, for many years, the farmers of Nakhchivan, Siyazan, Khizi, Gobustan and Hajigabul have suffered from the lack of fresh water for irrigation. Drought affects three quarters of the territories of Absheron, Aghstafa, Beylagan, Jalilabad, Fuzuli and Bilasuvar. Significant portion of the land in these areas is unsuitable even for pastures. In general, the erosion caused by water shortage affects 41.8% of Azerbaijan’s land fund.

Potential drought-related threats to Azerbaijan’s agricultural sector have been repeatedly discussed in the reports of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Ten years ago, experts of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) presented detailed studies of the consequences of desertification in Azerbaijan. According to the document, if Azerbaijan fails to create modern irrigation and reclamation systems, then by 2030 the long-term damage to Azerbaijan's agriculture will exceed $36.3 billion. The main reason is the decreasing level of moisture in the soil, primarily due to the decrease in the level of groundwaters.

The dynamics of decreasing water resources mentioned this summer by Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev is very impressive: in July, water reserves in the main reservoirs decreased to 11.1 billion cubic meters (bcm), while in the same period of 2016  they reached 16.5 bcm.

In a word, the problem of fresh water in Azerbaijan is more than urgent, despite the irrigation and water supply projects implemented in the past two decades, including the construction of the Samur-Absheron Canal, the Takhtakorpu reservoir and the irrigation canals in the north-east of the country, the construction of the Oghuz-Gabala-Baku water pipeline, the upgrade of the treatment facilities of the Jeyranbatan Reservoir, and the construction of the Shamkirchay Reservoir. All these projects contributed to the development of an efficient water supply system in Baku and many regional cities and towns. However…

Recovery has begun

Solving the problem of the deficit of irrigation waters for agriculture requires additional sources. According to experts, the ideal solution might be the development of the water-rich Garabagh region. Covered by the mountain ranges of the Lesser Caucasus, the region has rich water sources: snowy winters and abundant rains provide rivers and underground sources with inexhaustible moisture. In terms of river flow, the zone liberated from the occupation ranks the second after the Greater Caucasus. According to some estimates, the resources of the Lesser Caucasus rivers and reservoirs provide at least one third of the water potential of the entire country.

“The sources of more than ten Azerbaijani rivers are located on the lands liberated from occupation. For example, the Hakari River originates in Lachin and is more than 100 km long. Three more large rivers are in Kalbajar: Terterchay - 200 km, Bazarchay - about 180 km, Khachinchay - about 120 km. This is extremely important, since our three largest rivers - Kura, Araz and Samur - originate in other countries,” President Ilham Aliyev said recently. According to Mr. Aliyev, with the restoration and reintegration of the formerly occupied lands, their water resources will greatly contribute to the development of agriculture, ensuring the environmental balance. Also, the relevant government authorities have been instructed to start building reservoirs, hydroelectric facilities and irrigation canals to use the water potential of Garabagh.

In particular, soon after the liberation of the village of Sugovushan, fresh water from the reservoir located in this area is supplied to the nearby districts of Terter, Goranboy and Yevlakh. The total volume of the Sugovushan Reservoir is estimated at 5.9 million cubic meters (mcm). The flow of water helps to reduce the demand for the use of sub-artesian wells available in the three listed areas and to save energy. “With the liberation of Sugovushan, we ended the 30-year ecological terror, when Armenia deliberately and constantly blocked the flow of water. Today the Terter River is full-flowing. We ensured the environmental balance,” Hikmet Hajiyev, Aide to the President of Azerbaijan, noted on his Twitter.

Remarkably, the specialists of Azersu OJSC ensured the supply of drinking water to the village of Dashalty by November 12, and restored the water supply to Shusha after the repair of the damaged sections of the pipeline by November 25.

Additional opportunities

The operation of the Khudaferin and Qiz Qalasi hydroelectric complexes on the border with Iran along the Araz River will contribute even more to the irrigation potential of the country. With 64m-high and 400m-long dam, the reservoir with a volume of more than 1.6 bcm will become the third largest reservoir in Azerbaijan after the Mingachevir and Shamkirchay reservoirs. The new water reservoir located on the territory of Jabrayil and Zangilan districts will improve the irrigation of the existing 252,000 hectares of arable lands in the south-west of Azerbaijan, and will make it possible to irrigate an additional 8,000 hectares of new sown areas.

The gradual reintegration of the territories will provide a solution for the development of other large water reservoirs in Garabagh, including the Sarsang Reservoir built in 1976 in Aghdere (now the territory of Terter). The total capacity of the reservoir fed from the Terterchay River is 560 mcm. With a 125m-high dam, it is considered one of the highest in the country. The reservoir will provide irrigation waters for arable lands in six districts (Terter, Aghdam, Barda, Goranboy, Yevlakh and Aghjabedi) covering almost 100,000 hectares.

In addition to large reservoirs, the liberated territories have small water reservoirs with a total capacity of 80 mcm. Their operation will contribute to the irrigation of additional 15,000 hectares. Only in Kalbajar alone, there are seven lakes.

It is assumed that there are 11 underground sources in the liberated region, which can provide 2 mcm of drinking water per day.

Welcome back!

A more accurate assessment of the existing water potential of Azerbaijan will become available only after large-scale studies by the Melioration and Water Management and Azersu. During the years of occupation, as a result of the barbaric exploitation of water resources, the lack of capital repairs of reservoirs, hydroelectric facilities, irrigation canals and other water facilities, many of them have become unusable or have exhausted their resources.

According to the chairman of Melioration and Water Management OJSC, Ahmed Ahmedzade, large-scale works should be done to restore the irrigation systems in the territories liberated from the Armenian occupation. To assess the technical condition of water bodies, ensure their maintenance and operation, a special commission has been created. They have lots of difficult work to do, given that the liberated districts had in the past 9 reservoirs, 7 ponds, 6,426 km of irrigation networks, 2 hydroelectric plants, 330km-long infrastructure of collectors and drainage networks, 803 hydraulic structures, 88 pumping stations, 1,429 sub-artesian wells... ensuring the irrigation of 125,800 hectares of land.

Mr. Ahmedzade noted that after specifying the number of water management and land reclamation facilities in the liberated territories, the company will determine the suitable structures for construction. The commissioning of these facilities will ensure a continuous supply of irrigation water to the territory suffering from the problems with irrigation, thereby ensuring high yields in agriculture and restoring the environmental balance of the region.