The Tobol River is getting shallower: the region’s agriculture is under threat

Agrarians in Kostanay region of Kazakhstan faced serious difficulties in watering their fields due to a sharp drop in the water level in the Tobol River, reports inbusiness.kz . At one of the sites located between the Amangeldy reservoir and the bridge in the KZHBI area, the water went 1.5–2 meters. Now the depth of the main channel in some places does not exceed half a meter, which makes it impossible for the effective operation of water intake pumps. 

The problem arose after the spring flood of 2024, which caused significant damage to the infrastructure. Then a stormy stream of water almost destroyed the bridge in the area of KZHBI, eroding part of the road surface and demolishing the lighting poles. At the same time, the elements destroyed an earthen embankment, which for many years served as an unofficial retaining structure, maintaining a higher water level in the river upstream. Now, due to its absence, the river has noticeably shallowed.

Vegetable growers have repeatedly appealed to government agencies, but, having received no response, they were forced to send a collective letter to the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kostanay region. According to agrarians, previously the depth in the Tobol staritsa, from where they take water, reached two meters, and today it is only 30-40 centimeters. This is not enough for the correct operation of pumping equipment, which requires a depth of at least a meter. Shallowing also leads to environmental consequences: the river is overgrown with reeds, swamps and becomes a breeding ground for midges.

Farmers consider the proposals of the authorities to move water intakes inexpedient. Even the installation of modern floating pumps, which cost millions of tenge, will not solve the problem at the current depth. Other options, such as pumping water into the staritsa or deepening the bottom in places of water intake, are also recognized as ineffective without restoring the retaining structure – the water will go away, and the depressions will quickly be covered with sand. Unauthorized construction of ceilings threatens entrepreneurs with large fines.

Last summer, the situation was saved by heavy rains and increased discharge of water from reservoirs. However, in dry years, when the discharge volume is much lower, the shortage of water for irrigation can be disastrous for farms. In response to the appeals of farmers, officials say that there has never been an official dam on this site. We are talking about the former crossing, on the site of which a new bridge was erected more than ten years ago. This earthen embankment with culverts was supposed to be dismantled back in 2014, but for unknown reasons it was not done. It was she who maintained the water level familiar to farmers for decades.

Restoration of the backup is a complex and lengthy process. It is necessary to coordinate with the national company KazAvtoZhol, which serves the bridge, since any hydraulic structure can affect its safety during severe floods. According to experts, only approvals can take more than a year, not counting the time for design and construction work. Kazvodkhoz also recalled that contracts for water use for agriculture are not guaranteed, since the priority always remains the provision of drinking water to settlements.

The problem with irrigation is only part of a wider range of issues related to the operation of the Tobol River and its hydraulic structures, the publication points out. In the region, there is an urgent need to repair the waterworks of the Karatomar and Amangeldy reservoirs, which supply water to almost half a million people. The long-standing problem of blue-green algae blooming is not being solved, and the project to clean the Tobol riverbed from silt and reeds in Kostanay, for which hundreds of millions of tenge were allocated, has not been completed. There were no funds to repair the Gagarin dam, damaged by the spring flood. Many projects included in the environmental protection plan remain without funding.

Original (in Russian): Река Тобол мелеет: сельское хозяйство региона оказалось под угрозой