High potential of Karabakh's resources set to tackle country's water supply challenge Analysis by Caliber.Az

The process of restoring the water supply system in the Garabagh region has been accelerated as part of the implementation of the First State Programme for the large-scale return of former internally displaced persons to their homes in Azerbaijan. At the same time, there are plans to supply the capital and other districts of our country using the resources of rivers and reservoirs in the water-surplus region of the Lesser Caucasus. Prospects for the development of the water sector in the liberated territories, as well as aspects of water resources management, were discussed this week in Baku at the innovative conference "Reconstruction of Water Supply and Drainage Infrastructure in the Karabakh Region", organised on the initiative of the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce (AHK Azerbaijan).

Unfavourable climate changes over the last decade have been a major factor in the desertification in the countries of the South Caucasus. However, in addition to global climate change, Azerbaijan is also confronted with a man-made and anthropogenic factor - excessive water extraction in transboundary rivers such as the Kura, Araz and Samur in neighbouring countries - Türkiye, Iran, Russia and Georgia - resulting in an increasing shortage of water for irrigation needs. Water balance indicators in Azerbaijan have declined by 15-20 per cent over the past 20 years due to a combination of factors.

"As water scarcity is felt not only by individual regions but also by countries and nations, the issue of water diplomacy is becoming more important every year. We know that Azerbaijan, as a country downstream of major rivers, faces similar problems, but Baku is very active in water diplomacy," Heiko Schwarz, Permanent Representative of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in Azerbaijan, told the conference "Reconstruction of Water Supply and Drainage Infrastructure in Karabakh".

According to the diplomat, Germany also considers the issues of regulation in the sphere of water use and water resources management among the key tasks of the current world agenda. The German government has been very supportive of efforts to develop water diplomacy in the South Caucasus region, and last year nine water experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia visited Germany to familiarise themselves with modern approaches to the problem.

"We believe that transboundary water problems can only be solved and overcome if we work together. We should pay tribute to Azerbaijan, which is very active in solving these problems," Heiko Schwarz stressed. The German diplomat also noted that this year the Federal Republic of Germany is again planning to invite representatives of foreign ministries of various countries, including Azerbaijan, as well as water experts to Berlin for meetings and courses on water resources management and water diplomacy organised by the German Foreign Ministry.

Optimising the process of transboundary river water use in the South Caucasus is a very timely task. At the same time, it should be noted that the victory in the Second Karabakh War and the subsequent establishment of control over the entire resource base of the formerly occupied territories has given Azerbaijan a unique opportunity to alleviate the water problem. In particular, we are talking about building new reservoirs, laying water pipelines and creating other water infrastructure to better exploit the potential of the water-rich region of the Lesser Caucasus.

It should be recalled that the Karabakh region accounts for about 20 per cent of the water resources formed in Azerbaijan: in particular, in the territories liberated from occupation it is planned to attract the resources of a dozen rivers and about two and a half dozen medium and small reservoirs and natural lakes.

"The creation of a new water infrastructure in the liberated territories is the most important current task of the Government of Azerbaijan. There are 14 water reservoirs in the Karabakh region, but negative climate change is leading to a decrease in water resources, including in this region. That is why we are planning to build new reservoirs in the liberated territories," said Akbar Askerov, deputy head of the National Hydrometeorological Service of Azerbaijan, at a specialist conference organised with the support of the AHK Azerbaijan.

At the same time, Askerov noted that most of Karabakh's rivers have already been surveyed by Azerbaijan's Ministry of Ecology and water quality is regularly measured: "For example, the quality of water in Ohchuchay has already been checked four times, and the results of the checks showed a high level of water pollution with heavy metals." It should be recalled that the transboundary Ohchuchay River is systematically polluted by mining and processing enterprises operating in Armenia, and Azerbaijan has repeatedly complained about this to international environmental structures.

Fortunately, the river and lake basins of the Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur economic regions, which are formed in the mountains of the Lesser Caucasus, mostly provide the highest quality of clean fresh water. The districts of Kalbajar and Lachin, very promising in this aspect, are home to the mountainous headwaters of 10 of the Karabakh region's key rivers, including the Khakari, Terterchay, Bazarchay and Khachynchay. These rivers form the main water flow in the Lesser Caucasus, feeding the region's largest reservoir, Sarsang, with a capacity of 560 million cubic metres, as well as Sugovushan, with a capacity of 6 million cubic metres. The water base of the region is also provided by the potential of the fully flowing Araz, which feeds the Khudaferi reservoir with a capacity of over 1.6 billion cubic metres.

Over the past three years, Azerbaijan has made significant progress in harnessing the water potential of the Karabakh region, while at the same time carrying out extensive work on water infrastructure in the revitalised settlements. In particular, the construction of the 91 million cubic metre Khakarichay reservoir in the Lachin district will begin next year. The reservoir will be fed by the Khakari River, which is 113 kilometres long and has an average annual flow of about 10.7 cubic metres per second. The reservoir will provide high-quality drinking water to the residents of Shusha, Lachin, Gubadli, Zangilan, Jabrayil, Fizuli and Aghdam districts and, in the future, to Baku, where a long pipeline will be laid.

According to the latest information, specialists from the Azerbaijan State Water Resources Agency are improving the drinking water supply to the city of Khojaly: two new sub-artesian wells are being drilled and the existing drinking water supply and sewerage system is being expanded. To provide fresh water to the town of Fuzuli (which is expected to have a population of 50,000 by 2040), a 10.7 km main water pipeline will be constructed, central water reservoirs with a total capacity of 20,000 cubic metres will be built near the village of Zerger, and 15 sub artesian wells will be drilled near the village of Govshadli.

In Jabrayil district, hydraulic mechanisms are also being rehabilitated, irrigation collectors and canals are being cleaned of silt, and five pumping stations are being commissioned to provide irrigation for some 4,810 hectares of crops in the district.

The process of rehabilitating the water infrastructure in the town of Aghdam, as well as in four neighbouring villages and the nearby industrial zone, is very active. A main water pipeline is being laid across the Aghdam district, and 24 sub-artesian wells are being drilled, from which water will be collected in reservoirs located at the highest point of the district's relief, and transported by gravity through pipes to Aghdam and other settlements.

In December last year, the Khachinchay reservoir with a capacity of 23 million cubic metres and a seven-kilometre-long main canal were put into operation in the Aghdam district with the participation of the head of state. The Ağıllı su project has also developed the project of the future Aghdam water distribution network and the wastewater and stormwater remediation system, which will be controlled and managed by an automated SCADA system. In the future, wastewater will be used for irrigation purposes after being treated in a biological treatment plant with a capacity of 30,000 cubic metres of water per day.

The reconstruction of the Shusha city water supply system and the repair and rehabilitation of the Sugovushan reservoir in Terter district have already been completed under the State Programme for the Great Return of Former Internally Displaced Persons. Also in 2024, the repair and reconstruction of the Kendelenchay 1, Kendelenchay 2 and Ashagi Kendelenchay reservoirs will be completed. The reconstruction of the Zabukhchay reservoir in the Lachin district is underway, and in the coming years, the construction of a main water intake canal will begin, which will transfer water from the "Qiz Qlasi" reservoir and create a system of Khakarichay and Bargushadchay canals.