Azerbaijan is restoring its water resources Caliber.Az report on Khachinchay and Sugovushan reservoirs

The slogan “bread to all heads” familiar to us from Soviet times is not quite true. I still think that water to all heads. Besides, without water, it is impossible to grow wheat and bake bread. For Azerbaijan, a country known worldwide for its agricultural products, water is a vital factor. Agricultural products account for a significant share of exports of our republic and there is no need to even mention the employment of rural citizens in this sector. Two-thirds of Azerbaijan’s lands consist of areas suitable for agriculture. The issue of water availability is therefore of particular importance to the country.

The “Melioration and Water Management of Azerbaijan” firm recently organized a media tour to the Khachinchay and Sugovushan reservoirs. The purpose of the tour was to get introduced to the repair and restoration works on the Khachinchay reservoir, on the main canal of the Sugovushan reservoir and on the left bank of the main “Terter” canal.

The tour began at the Khachinchay reservoir. We would like to note that in addition to its strategic value, the reservoir impresses with its scale and aesthetic beauty. The lake is located on the Khachinchay river in the territory of the Aghdam district and was built in 1964. However, since 1993, the reservoir ceased to function as it was under the occupation of Armenia. For almost 30 years, Azerbaijan has been deprived of using the water of the Khachinchay river and has fully experienced the policy of “water blackmail” conducted by Yerevan. The loss of control over the reservoir created enormous problems for many districts of Azerbaijan. During the occupation the reservoir came into a state of neglect and with the water in the reservoir asleep, there were leaks.

Everything changed after the victory of Azerbaijan in the Patriotic War. The country recovered its water bodies, including Khachinchay, and began their reconstruction. A serious problem in assessing the condition and operation of the Khachinchay reservoir was that the territories adjacent to the reservoir were mined by the Armenian side and with the mine density being very high, it took a long time to clear the land from mines. The problem has now been resolved and the complete restoration of the Khachinchay reservoir is expected to be completed within the next year. Most of the work has already been done - leaks have been eliminated, and the bottom of the reservoir has been cleaned from sludge. Now the concreting of the coastal slope is being carried out. Concrete canals flowing from the reservoir are also nearing completion.

The Khachinchay reservoir is not the only one in the Karabakh region. There are 9 reservoirs and 14 rivers in the Karabakh region in total, with about 20-25% of the water resources of Azerbaijan coming from these lands. The victory in the 44-day war restored Azerbaijan’s access to the reservoirs of Ashagi Kondelen, Kondelenchay-1, Kondelenchay-2, Aghdamkend, Giz Galasi, Khudaferin, Khachinchay and Sugovushan.

After visiting Khachinchay Lake, we went to the liberated village of Sugovushan in the Terter district, where a reservoir with the same name is located.

The Sugovushan reservoir was built in 1975 and provided water to the Terter, Barda, Aghdam, Goranboy and other districts. During the occupation, Armenia exerted pressure on Azerbaijan by blocking the watercourse but 30 years later, the water from Sugovushan again began to irrigate the 30,000 hectares of agricultural land, which were deprived of watering during the occupation. The reservoir contains almost 6 million m³ of water. The cleaning and operation of the Sugovushan water basin began immediately after the liberation of the village. Water supplies have begun to reach areas that have been experiencing serious water problems for many years, enabling the sustainability of crops and high yields. In addition to eliminating water shortages, the launch of the Sugovushan reservoir restored ecological balance in the region.

The concreting of the dam of the reservoir is also planned with the above dam road and sidewalks to be reconstructed. The hydromechanical and hydraulic equipment of the water head of the tower and irrigation system will be repaired and updated. In addition, the construction of a new administrative building and a repair workshop is planned for the Sugovushan Reservoir. Regarding power generation, two hydroelectric power plants of 4 MW and 3.8 MW have been installed in the reservoir.

In general, the reservoir has again started irrigating 96,217 hectares of land.

During the occupation, the water infrastructure in all territories of Azerbaijan was completely destroyed but is now being reconstructed in accordance with modern standards.