Potable Water and Sanitation Issues in the Aral Sea

Ayse Kudat

The World Bank

1998

KAZAKHSTAN

RUSSIA

KYRGYZSTAN

TAJIKISTAN

CHINATURKMENISTAN

IRAN AFGHANISTAN PAKISTAN

UZBEKISTAN

SOURCES OF POTABLE WATER

Water

Piped Water in the House (6.3%)

Piped Water inthe yard (13.7%) Water Pump in

the yard (26.2%)

Well in theyard (8.2%)

Well in the street (11.6%)

Piped Water next door (2%)

Water Pump in the street (9.1%)

Irrigationcanal (10%)

NaturalSpring (0.2%)

Well next door (8.1%)

River, Lake or Pond (5%)

Piped Water in the street (17.2%)

Water Vendor (0.9%)

Sources of Drinking Water by Geographical Area

32.4

31.7

31.4

27.2

1.8

45.6

24.4

38.8

3.6

0

0 20 40 60

PipedWater

Hand-dugWells

HandPumps

IrrigationCanals

Vendors

32 4

15

67

8

Sea

ARALARAL

Sea

Karakalpakstan

Khorezm

Percentage of Households

Other*

Piped water on the street

Piped water in neighbor'syard

Piped water in yard

Piped water inside

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

% of households

Other*

Piped water on the street

Piped water in neighbor'syard

Piped water in yard

Piped water inside

Nukus

Urgench

*Category “other” includes well inside yard, well in neighbor’s yard, well on the street, hand pump in the yard, hand pump outside,spring water, rivers, lakes and ponds, irrigation canal, delivered water and bottled water.

Main Water Sources for Drinking and Cooking in Nukus and Urgench

Reasons of Dissatisfaction

0 20 40 60 80 100

Bad taste

Effect on milk

Smell

Dirtiness

Salinity

% of households

Cold Season

Warm season

Urban Areas Rural Areas

0 20 40 60 80 100

Bad taste

Effect on milk

Smell

Dirtiness

Salinity

% of households

Cold Season

Warm Season

0 20 40 60 80 100

Bad taste

Effect on milk

Smell

Dirtiness

Salinity

% of households

Cold Season

Warm Season

Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 5 Zone 6 Zone 70

20

40

60

80

100

% o

f ho

use

ho

lds

Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 5 Zone 6 Zone 7

Households Who Treat Water Before Using It

92% 100% 98% 67% 85% 63%

Do not treat water before

using17%

Treat water before using

83%

No17%

Yes83%

Treatment of Vendor Delivered Water

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Filtering Settling Boiling

pe

rce

nt o

f ho

use

ho

lds

Methods of Treatment Used

Total Number of Hand Pumps Surveyed byGeographical Zone

32 41

5

67

8

Sea

ARAL

Nukus

Urgench

79 hand pumps

20 hand pumps N/A

91 hand pumps

40 hand pumps

154 hand pumps

100 hand pumps

Karakalpakstan

Khorezm

16 hand pumps

Uses of Hand Pump Water

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Watering gardens

Drinking

Cleaning

Watering animals

percent of hand pumps used

89%

11%

Piped water available Piped water not available

Availability of Piped Water Supplyin the Settlements with Hand Pumps

0 20 40 60 80 100

Piped WaterAvailable

Piped Water notAvailable

percent of hand pumps used for drinking

Hand Pump Usage for Drinking Purposes in Settlements With and Without Piped Water

Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 4 Zone 5 Zone 6 Zone 7 Zone 8 Total

1.6

2.0 2.1

1.82.0 2.1

1.5

2.0

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

gra

ms/

lite

r

Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 4 Zone 5 Zone 6 Zone 7 Zone 8 Total

Hand Pump Water Salinity - in Zones

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

percent of hand pumps

gram

s/lit

er

Hand Pump Water Salinity - Khorezm and Karakalpakstan

Average = 1.918 grams/liter

0

5

10

15

20

25

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100Percent of Hand Pumps

Coli

Index

Average = 9

Coli Count in Hand Pump Water - Khorezm and Karakalpakstan

Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 4 Zone 5 Zone 6 Zone 7 Zone 8 Total

6.8

3.04.2

6.1

13.4 13.4

3.5

9.0

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

Col

i Ind

ex

Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 4 Zone 5 Zone 6 Zone 7 Zone 8 Total

Coli Count in Hand Pump Water - in Zones

No74%

Yes26%

Health Problems in Households Dependingon Water Vendors

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Other*

Neurological diseases

Arthritic

Respiratory diseases

Cardiovascular

Stomach and liver

% of individuals

Distribution of Illnesses

*Category “other” includes cancer, allergies and injury-related illnesses.

32 41

5

67

8

Sea

ARALARALSea

Total Household Income from Salary/wagesby Geographical Area

16

1918

2617

1616 15

Main Problems in Rural Uzbekistan and Karakalpakstan

• Sanitation

• Lack of Fuel

• Lack of Opportunities to Make a Living

• Lack of Construction Materials

• Health

• Lack of Flour

• Water

PROBLEM2 3PROBLEM1 PROBLEM

%

• Lack of Money for Food Products

64.7

23.0

3.1

0.9

0.7

0.4

0.1

2.7 9.0

16.0

3.6

4.0

4.0

1.3

1.0

58.9

25.4

8.5

12.0

18.0

11.9

6.8

5.8

5.3

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Other*

Other economic problems

Lack of drainage system

Unemployment

Health

Living conditions

Lack of cons. materials

Water shortage

Water quality

Lack of money for food

Shortage and high cost offlour

% of households

Nukus

Urgench

Priority Problems in Nukus and Urgench

*Category “other” includes home and housing problems, dissatisfaction with job and various problems at the workplace.

Salinity Tolerance Levels

Salinity of the piped water supply is at an intermediate level (0.6-1.5g/l)

Salinity of the piped water supply is at an intermediate level (0.6-1.5g/l)

Salinity of hand pump and hand dug well water is higher (1.5-2g/l)

Salinity of hand pump and hand dug well water is higher (1.5-2g/l)

...however, salinity of these sources is somewhat constant throughout the year

Hand pump water consumers can tolerate higher levels of salinity because of its constant nature in the ground water

Hand pump water consumers can tolerate higher levels of salinity because of its constant nature in the ground water

Women have lower tolerance for salinity in their water

Acceptable taste

Acceptable saltiness

1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.1 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14

salinity in household water (g/l)

Acceptable taste

Acceptable saltiness

Females

Males

Females

Females

Males

Males

Priority Water Supply Improvement Needed in Urgench andWillingness to Make Monthly Payments for It

Connection to pipeline (20%)54.8 sums/month(3.7% of average income)

Change Pipes (10%)51.7 sums/month(3.5% of average income)

Install a Filter (33.3%)71.4 sums/month(4.87% of average income)

Other Improvements* (6.6%)120 sums/month(8.1% of average income)

Install electric pump (23.3%)45.7 sums/month(3.1% of average income)

* Other improvements include increasing the pressure of water.

Build a reservoir (6.6%)17.5 sums/month(1.2% of average income)