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Eastern Caspian

55

Environment and Security

All provinces in the eastern Caspian region

suffer from a shortage of good-quality fresh-

water. Water scarcity is a major hindrance

for local development. Water is delivered by

tankers to remote villages, as only sizable

urban areas have access to tap water.

Overall in the Caspian Sea provinces of

Kazakhstan tap water is available to ap-

proximately 70–75% of the population (liv-

ing mostly in the towns of Atyrau, Aktau

and Jana Uzen) (NESSD 2006; Mangys-

tau province programme “Drinking water

2003–2010”). Again the main differences in

access are observed between urban and

rural areas. In both Caspian provinces do-

mestic use of freshwater (for drinking and

household services) amounts to 15 million

cubic metres a year. In rural areas – such as

Beiney, Mangystau, Tupkaragan, Karakyan

districts – water use is lower than 50 litres a

day per person, which is below basic health

and sanitation requirements.

There are substantial differences in the

sources of water supply. In Mangystau

province about 50% of drinking water is

provided by desalination of Caspian water

(by the MAEK plant in Aktau, 100 million

cu m a year, and at Fort Shevchenko), the

rest being supplied by the 1 100 km long

Volga–Mangyshlak water pipeline and by

underground reserves.

In Atyrau province the main water supply

is the Ural river, while distant rural settle-

ments draw water from tankers or wells.

The Ural river

59

is also the second largest

watercourse in the whole Caspian region,

after the Volga river, forming part of the

geographic boundary between Europe and

Asia. Phenols, heavy metals and oil prod-

ucts are the principal pollutants in the Ural

basin. The diluting effects of Ural’s spring

floods decrease water pollution in the river’s

lower reaches in the Caspian lowland and

permit self-purification of the river system.

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Freshwater

Environmental degradation and security