Chu River Basin Plan 2027–2031
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Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic
Developing Water Use Permits in the Kyrgyz Republic
Financed bySDC
Implemented byOiEau
CAREC
Modelling and analyticshydrosolutions GmbH

Overview of the draft completed 13 September 2026

Chu River Basin Plan 2027–2031

Resources, water uses and priorities for action.

Plan release v0.1 (2026-09-14) · backbone R1 · water-body register 2026-08-24-m6r-partition-v8 · built 2026-10-02

Chu Basin Plan

The structure of the plan

  • Executive summary
  • 1 Introduction
  • 2 Characterisation of the basin
  • 3 Main issues and risks
  • 4 Action plan and recommendations
  • 5 Supporting appendices

Chapter 4 remains to be prepared. The following slides retain its place in the plan.

1.1 Objectives and scope of work

What we want to achieve

  • Understand the basin: where the water comes from and where it goes.
  • Understand how the basin evolves in the future.
  • Identify main issues and risks.
  • Devise an action plan to ensure good status of water resources.

Example throughout: the Ala-Archa, three water bodies from the mountains to the valley.

What we want to achieve
Looking south-east across the basin: Kazakh steppe, the irrigated valley, the Kyrgyz Ala-Too, Issyk-Kul.Image: Google Earth satellite view with the basin outline, prepared by hydrosolutions (2026).

Executive summary

The main findings

Water moves from the mountains through rivers, canals and groundwater; decisions must reflect these connections.

Seasonality is the main concern: earlier runoff can coincide with larger summer irrigation shortages.

The plan helps to make decisions: it targets monitoring, tests measures, and gives permits a basis of confirmed uses, ecological requirements and local observations.

1.1 Objectives and scope of work

A common basis for water decisions

Protect resources and improve their use in the Kyrgyz part of the Chu basin, accounting for connected downstream waters.

Bring irrigation, drinking-water supply, industry and ecosystems into one assessment.

Use the 2040 and 2075 scenarios to inform investments during the 2027–2031 planning period.

1.2 Legal and institutional framework

Responsibilities for the resource and its use

The Basin Council develops the draft plan and submits it to the National Council (Water Code, Art. 11, 24).

The authorised body for water resources organises plan preparation and issues permits (Art. 24, 28).

The water-management body runs irrigation systems (Art. 13).

1.3 The basin plan and its relation to water-use permits

A permit at the river, a contract inside the system

A permit at the river, a contract inside the system

A permit attaches to the place where water leaves the river.

Permit point. The head intake on the river (Water Code, Art. 28).

Contract points. Offtakes inside the irrigation system: delivery by contract.

Evidence at the permit point. Flow, existing uses, return water, downstream needs, season by season.

Implication. Assess the permit at the head intake; deliveries inside the system by contract.

Working reading of Art. 27–28, to be confirmed by the Water Resources Service. The authorities set the ecological flow.

1.4 Methodology and data sources

A connected water balance

A connected water balance

Finding. The models connect natural river flow, water distribution and valley groundwater.

Implication for the plan. Use natural-flow passports to describe the resource and coupled scenarios to examine uses, returns and remaining flow.

1.5 Participation in the development of the basin plan

Participation continues through implementation

The Basin Council working group combines specialist evidence with local knowledge of shortages, infrastructure and water use.

The Chu plan pilots basin planning for the whole Kyrgyz Republic.

Revision is iterative: each consultation round informs the next draft; institutions confirm priorities, measures and responsibilities.

2.1 Geographical context

Two countries, one river

67 500 km²whole basin, with the Kazakh lower reaches
1 186 kmriver length, 489 km in Kyrgyzstan
≈ 2 million people depend on its water
  • Kyrgyz part 21 984 km², Kazakh part 15 389 km²; 38 400 km² drain to the Kuragaty confluence.
  • The Chu runs 150 km along the border and dies out in Kazakh lakes and sands.
  • Nearly every left-bank tributary is diverted for irrigation before it reaches the Chu.

Numbers: Chu Basin Plan 2026, draft ch. 2

Two countries, one river
Kyrgyz and Kazakh parts of the basin.Map: hydrosolutions for the Chu Basin Plan 2026; basin outline and state border of the plan's GIS base.

2.3 Water resources

Sub-basins

  • Four nested layers: whole basin, Kyrgyz part, 18 sub-basins, elementary catchments.
  • Nine sub-basins have a discharge gauge (names in bold).
  • Each has a mountain part where runoff forms and a valley part where water is used.

Numbers: Chu Basin Plan 2026, draft ch. 2

Sub-basins
Whole basin, Kyrgyz part, 18 sub-basins (9 gauged, names in bold) and elementary catchments.Map: Chu Basin Plan 2026, Figure 9 (Annex 5.5, map A-02); gauge archive after Marti et al. (2023).

2.2 Natural conditions

The mountains supply the irrigated valley

The mountains supply the irrigated valley

Finding. The colder, wetter mountains generate runoff, while irrigated land concentrates in the drier valley.

Implication for the plan. Follow water from mountain sources to valley users. These climatic zones do not establish legal protection boundaries.

2.2 Natural conditions

Warm and dry below, cold and wet above

Warm and dry below, cold and wet above

10–12 °C on the valley floor, below 0 °C above 3 500 m.

Potential evaporation: over 1 000 mm on the plain, about 500 mm up high.

One map, two variables: red is warm and dry, blue is cool and wet.

2.2 Natural conditions

Snow: the mountains' seasonal reservoir

Snow: the mountains' seasonal reservoir

Top: water held in the snowpack by elevation band and month, mean 2000–2019.

Peak in March below 3 000 m, in April above; up to about 150 mm of water.

Bottom: one winter day by day, 1 September 2024 to 8 June 2025.

Stored snow is not yet river water: part seeps away or evaporates.

2.4 Climate change and its impact on water resources

Glacier loss weakens the long-term summer reserve

Glacier loss weakens the long-term summer reserve

Finding. Independent glacier projections show a strong decline in the long-term ice reserve.

Implication for the plan. Avoid permanent commitments based on temporary meltwater support. Basin water-use scenarios retain prescribed glacier inflows and exclude the full effect of glacier loss.

2.3 Water resources

The river: what the gauges say

The river: what the gauges say

Kyrgyz side: observations since 1912; the posts measure the natural resource at the mountain outlet.

Kazakh side (Kazhydromet): 59 posts on the Chu in 1980, 10 in 2013 and today; the longest record is the Chu at Tasotkel, 74 years.

Daily records of 8 Kazakh posts: Chu at Kainar and at Belbasar, Kuragaty at Aspara station, Aksu at Aksu, Kara-Balta at Aksu (Balasagun), Toktash at Zhaugash Batyr, Sargou at the border, HPP canal at Ulbutuy.

Rivers without a gauge move from studied to poorly studied, on both sides of the border.

2.3 Water resources

The river loses and gains water along its course

The river loses and gains water along its course

Finding. Between Buruldai and Tokmok the Chu loses up to 49 m³/s in June. Below Tokmok it gains about 15 m³/s all year; below Milyanfan 11–45 m³/s, most in winter.

Implication for the plan. Renew measurement at the main control sections. The same water can pass more than one section.

2.3 Water resources

One water balance of the Chu

One water balance of the Chu

Finding. New water: 3,659 million m³ a year of river runoff from the mountains. Karasu (1,293) and return water (920) come back, largely the same water again. Together 5,872 ± 7%.

Implication for the plan. Karasu also carry part of the mountain underflow. Not included: valley evaporation, outflow north.

Sources: 2020 plan Tables II.2.2.4.1, II.2.2.5.1, II.2.2.6.1, II.2.2.7.1; plan draft of 13 Sept 2026, Table 2; full list under Sources (N).

2.3 Water resources

The transboundary share

The transboundary share
The transboundary share

Finding. 1983: 6,640 million m³ divisible, 1,777 of it return water; Kazakhstan 42 %, Kyrgyzstan 58 %. 1985, by reach: 88 % and 75 % to Kyrgyzstan.

Implication for the plan. 6,640 (whole basin, two countries) and 5,872 (reaches to the border) are not the same object: never difference them.

2.3 Water resources

The extended groundwater model across the Chu plain

  • The active grid continues across the Kyrgyz–Kazakh border.
  • MODFLOW represents groundwater within this lowland footprint.
  • Rivers, recharge, pumping and drainage connect it to the surface-water system.

Source: Chu groundwater explorer · retained G2 extended model, 28 Sep 2026. Simulated; qualification ongoing.

The extended groundwater model across the Chu plain
Retained extended lowland grid; the border is not a groundwater barrier.Source: Chu groundwater explorer · retained G2 extended model, 28 Sep 2026. Simulated; qualification ongoing.

2.3 Water resources

Kara suu and drainage in the extended model

  • Mapped kara suu and line drains are represented as groundwater outlets.
  • Surface seepage, background drainage and river exchange are separate pathways.
  • The map shows applied model boundaries; field checks remain needed.

Source: Chu groundwater explorer · retained G2 extended model, 28 Sep 2026. Simulated; qualification ongoing.

Kara suu and drainage in the extended model
Applied drainage across the extended grid; colours distinguish outlet types.Source: Chu groundwater explorer · retained G2 extended model, 28 Sep 2026. Simulated; qualification ongoing.

2.3 Water resources

Steady-state head contours of the extended model

  • Contours show upper-layer head: the height water would reach in a well.
  • The saved initial calculation uses average inputs; contour spacing is 50 m.
  • Head is measured above the model datum, not as depth below ground.
  • This simulated initial state still needs checks against observed well levels.

Source: Chu groundwater explorer · retained G2 extended model, 28 Sep 2026. Simulated; qualification ongoing.

Steady-state head contours of the extended model
Upper layer shown separately; deeper pressure contours are available in the groundwater explorer.Source: Chu groundwater explorer · retained G2 extended model, 28 Sep 2026. Simulated; qualification ongoing.

2.7 Delineation of water bodies

Checkpoint 1: the water bodies are defined

Checkpoint 1: the water bodies are defined

Finding. The candidate list locates river sections, standing waters and canal systems alongside groundwater evidence areas.

Implication for the plan. Use the list to organise assessment. Regional alluvial-aquifer proposals need hydrogeological confirmation. Groundwater condition-evidence areas are separate and do not establish aquifer boundaries or allowable pumping.

2.11 Water availability by water body

A passport, as every structure has one

A dam, a canal headworks or a pumping station has a technical passport: who owns it, where it is, what it was built for, its capacity, its condition, when it was last inspected.

A water body gets the same: one page that says where it begins and ends, how much water it carries, who uses it, what presses on it, what it risks, and what is to be done.

Both serve the same purpose: a decision about the object is taken against the page, not from memory.

2.7 Delineation of water bodies

Checkpoint 1: the water bodies by category

Checkpoint 1: the water bodies by category

Finding. Each category keeps its own identity and its own evidence: rivers by section, canals by system, standing waters as units.

Implication for the plan. A permit, a pressure or a risk attaches to one of these units. Groundwater boundaries remain to be confirmed.

2.11 Water availability by water body

A passport brings local resource evidence together

A passport brings local resource evidence together

Finding. The passport combines identity, location and natural seasonal flow. This Ala-Archa example adds two model exits.

Implication for the plan. Recalculate the balance for the actual intake, including existing uses, returns and ecological needs. The passport total is not a new permit volume.

2.11 Water availability by water body

One passport per candidate entry, seven elements each

Every candidate water body gets one page: current status, natural supply, ecological-flow quantity, main usage, main pressure, main risks, main actions.

Draft v0.1 of the plan fills the supply element for every body (Annex 5.5). The other elements are being collected step by step; today we fill them for one river.

The Ala-Archa: three water bodies from the glaciers to the reservoir, with the Tush head intake between the first two.

The candidate list includes groundwater evidence areas; they do not establish groundwater bodies.

2.7 Delineation of water bodies

One river, three water bodies: the Ala-Archa

One river, three water bodies: the Ala-Archa

Finding. From the glaciers to the reservoir the Ala-Archa is three candidate water bodies. The Tush head intake, a permit point for 15 m³/s, separates mountain from valley.

Implication for the plan. We follow this river: natural state and recreation upstream, agriculture and Bishkek mid-stream, irrigation, drainage, fish farming downstream.

2.11 Water availability by water body

Checkpoint 2: the passport starts with the current status

Checkpoint 2: the passport starts with the current status

Finding. Each water body gets a one-page passport. Its first element describes what was found: a natural mountain reach, a diverted reach at the city's edge, a used reach through the valley.

Implication for the plan. A description, not a formal status. The elements that follow add the numbers.

2.11 Water availability by water body

The passport adds the natural supply

The passport adds the natural supply

Finding. Draft v0.1 holds this element: natural supply, 7.3–7.6 m³/s on average.

Implication for the plan. Without any withdrawal, so no drop at the Tush intake. Minus the planned intake, about 5.9 and 5.7 m³/s remain: a quick estimate.

2.11 Water availability by water body

The passport adds the ecological-flow quantity

The passport adds the ecological-flow quantity

Finding. Q95 of the daily flow: on 95 days out of 100 the river carries at least 0.86 m³/s upstream and 1.04–1.07 m³/s below the intake.

Implication for the plan. A starting quantity, not a requirement: the authorities set the ecological flow. Low days fall in February–April.

2.8 Existing and potential water needs by sector and by water body

The passport adds the main usage

The passport adds the main usage

Finding. Upstream: recreation. Mid-stream: agriculture and groundwater recharge; the Tush canal takes up to 15 m³/s for 8,410 ha. Downstream: irrigation, drainage, fish farming.

Implication for the plan. Measured use exists only at the Tush head intake; for the other two bodies it has to be compiled.

2.10 Pressure and impact on water bodies

The passport adds the main pressure

The passport adds the main pressure

Finding. Upstream no mapped pressure. Mid-stream: the agricultural allocation at the Tush intake, about half the May flow, all of it in a dry May. Downstream: wastewater and agricultural effluents.

Implication for the plan. Both lower bodies screen high; a tier says where to look first, not a status. Loads are not yet measured.

3.1 Low water, drought and pressure on water bodies

The passport adds the main risks

The passport adds the main risks

Finding. Upstream: slope instability, glacier-lake outbursts, less snow, a shifted season. Mid-stream: Bishkek’s groundwater, a shifted season, population growth. Downstream: depletion and worsening quality.

Implication for the plan. Behind the shifted season: two of 17 years below the low-water floor, ice melt about 7 % of flow, scenarios raising the floor by 2040.

4 Action plan and recommendations

From the passport to main actions per water body

From the passport to main actions per water body

Finding. The last element is open: priorities and actions per water body have not yet been defined. They belong to Chapter 4 of the plan.

Implication for the plan. Supply, ecological-flow quantity, usage, pressure and risks on one page are the basis for proposing them, body by body.

2.11 Water availability by water body

One page, many sources

Local data: gauge records, the Oblvodkhoz planning ledger, the structure and canal registers, state statistics.

Local expert and institutional knowledge: the BUVR, the Oblvodkhoz, the Basin Council; what is known about intakes, uses and incidents that no table holds.

Model results: the natural regime (supply, ecological-flow quantity) and the coupled managed model (scenarios, groundwater); satellite remote sensing: irrigated land, glaciers, water levels from space, imagery.

Documents: the 2020 plan, the Soviet-era surveys, the Water Code and the interstate agreements. Each element of the passport names its source.

2.11 Water availability by water body

Every passport needs validation, approval and adoption

Validation by the local authority: the BUVR and the Basin Council check each element against what they know on the ground and correct it.

Approval by the Water Resources Service: the water body and its passport enter the register; the ecological-flow requirement is set by the authorities, not by a model.

Adoption with the plan, then iteration: a passport is updated as monitoring, permits and measures add information. Until then every page is a candidate, not a right.

2.5 Human economic activity

Irrigation and urban growth share the resource

Agriculture accounts for the largest water use. Its reliability depends on delivery, drainage and soil conditions.

Bishkek and other settlements rely strongly on groundwater. Municipal supply, industry and sanitation need joint attention.

Hydropower, aquaculture, tourism and legacy waste sites create additional local demands or pressures.

2.6 Water infrastructure

The network redistributes mountain runoff

The network redistributes mountain runoff

Finding. Reservoir operation and canal transfers determine how mountain runoff reaches users.

Implication for the plan. Measure head-intake withdrawals and field delivery separately. Planning ledgers show intended use, and lower canal seepage can also reduce groundwater recharge.

2.8 Existing and potential water needs by sector and by water body

The agricultural footprint

  • Irrigated land fills the dispersion zone from the mountain front to the Kazakh border; about 3 200 km² in the Kyrgyz part.
  • Structure of use: 90 % irrigation, 6 % domestic and drinking, 4 % industry.
  • Three figures describe it: reported irrigation use 1 200–1 500 million m³ a year (2020–2024), planned intake 1 611 (2022), remote-sensing withdrawal 819 (2022, at efficiency 0.48).

Numbers: Chu Basin Plan 2026, draft ch. 2 (Table 2.3.67); Annex 5.4 (demand, planning ledger)

The agricultural footprint
Glaciers (RGI v6), irrigated land (HYDRO4U), rivers, canals and gauge basins: observed layers only.Map: hydrosolutions for the Chu Basin Plan 2026.

2.5 Human economic activity

Groundwater use: Bishkek and the central valley

Groundwater use: Bishkek and the central valley

Finding. Groundwater demand concentrates around Bishkek and the central-valley settlements: about 270 million m³ a year, most of the municipal supply.

Implication for the plan. Wellfield pumping, groundwater levels, river infiltration and spring flow need to be observed together; the Ala-Archa well field already shows falling levels.

3.5 Risks of pollution

Water quality: nothing is known without monitoring

Water quality is measured only at the sampled places and dates; the plan assigns no ecological or chemical status to any water body.

Urban wastewater, agricultural drainage with herbicides and pesticides, industrial and legacy waste sites are the sources to examine; drinking-water catchments come first.

Priority: a monitoring network that samples the pressured and the unknown water bodies, and confirms each source before treatment or protection measures are chosen.

2.10 Pressure and impact on water bodies

Where pressure is likely: a first screen of the 81 water bodies

Where pressure is likely: a first screen of the 81 water bodies

Finding. 35 bodies screen high, 22 moderate, 24 have no mapped evidence. The map shows what could pollute, not what does: no load or quality is measured.

Implication for the plan. It says where to look first: inventories and water sampling for the red bodies, and for the grey ones, where evidence is missing.

2.10 Pressure and impact on water bodies

The Pressure Review Atlas: one layer at a time

  • Demand and abstraction: municipal demand, groundwater abstraction, agricultural withdrawal, consumptive use.
  • Urban and point sources: industrial and residential land, wastewater treatment, landfills, utilities.
  • Agricultural and landscape context: irrigated and cultivated fraction, slope, distance to a watercourse.
  • Managed water and physical alteration: reservoirs and storage, canal density, planned irrigation supply.
  • Surface-water context: occurrence, recurrence and change.

Numbers: Annex 5.4, Interactive Pressure Review Atlas

The Pressure Review Atlas: one layer at a time
Four views of the Pressure Review Atlas.Screenshots: hydrosolutions, locally held copy (2026-08-30) and v8 rebuild (2026-09-04).

3.1 Low water, drought and pressure on water bodies

Natural low water and irrigation shortage differ

Natural low water and irrigation shortage differ

Finding. The lowest modelled natural monthly flow occurs in winter and early spring, while irrigation shortages can peak in summer.

Implication for the plan. Distinguish a small natural resource from high seasonal demand or poor delivery. The map supports monitoring priorities, rather than identifying overuse by itself.

3.6 Risks of floods, mudflows and landslides

Mountain floods and debris flows return along the same routes

Place and periodWhat the historical record reports
Upper Ala-Archa, 1916–1943Minor debris-flow years read from tree rings; no settlement damage.
Ala-Archa to Bishkek, June 1953Outburst surge reached the city’s outskirts; canals and fields flooded.
Aksai, 1960–1980Repeated outbursts; tourist camp damaged 1968, two events 1970.
Teztor / Adygene–Ala-Archa, 1988–2024Repeated outbursts: road and bridge 1988, recreation base 2012; smaller in 2018, 2024.
Alamedin, 1975 and 2015Farmland flooded; at Arashan 7–8 m of road washed out.
Ala-Archa, 1993, 1999, 2015Minor rain or meltwater events, no damage reported.
Kashka-Suu, April 2024Large debris flow: about 25 houses destroyed, one death.
Wider Chuy, 1977, 1998, 2005Stream damage, waterlogging, evacuations, crop flooding.

Table 13 of the plan: historical flood and debris-flow evidence in the Ala-Archa and Alamedin catchments. The plan's third column, the meaning for preparedness, is in the plan text.

3.6 Risks of floods, mudflows and landslides

Mountain hazards and groundwater flooding need different evidence

Mountain hazards and groundwater flooding need different evidence

Finding. Debris flows and lake outbursts follow the mountain corridors; groundwater flooding rises where the valley water table is shallow. Mapped flooding evidence covers only part of the valley.

Implication for the plan. Corridors need surveys and design floods; the valley needs water-table monitoring. Daily flow scenarios give neither.

3.2 Scenarios for future water management

Climate change: a warmer basin, an earlier season

Observed: the Chui valley warmed 1.8–2.3 °C over 1930–2009. Projected: summers warm fastest; more winter rain, less snow; glaciers largely gone by 2100.

For the water bodies this means an earlier melt season, a weaker late-summer reserve, more slope instability and glacier-lake outbursts in the mountains, and a valley water table that responds to the changed recharge.

Scenarioby 2030by 2050by 2070by 2090
SSP2-4.5 (moderate)+1.6 °C+2.6 °C+3.0 °C+3.7 °C
SSP5-8.5 (high emissions)+1.8 °C+3.2 °C+4.6 °C+6.2 °C

Warming relative to 1981–2020, CMIP6 ensemble, as quoted in the plan draft (chapter 2); the same table as in the hydrology training.

3.2 Scenarios for future water management

Scenarios test pressure on the present system

39 coupled cases: 3 historical baselines (1995–2011 weather, 2020 demand), one per climate model, and 36 future cases.

The 36 future cases are every combination of three climate models (GFDL-ESM4, MRI-ESM2-0, UKESM1-0-LL) × two pathways (SSP2-4.5, SSP5-8.5) × two horizons (2040, 2075) × three development cases (low, reference, high demand).

Irrigated area, crops, delivery calendar and operating rules stay fixed; modernisation and glacier loss are assessed separately.

GFDL and MRI rainfall qualifications apply. OCHK is only partly represented. These are comparisons under assumptions, not probabilities.

3.3 Hydrological balance and water availability in future scenarios

Demand rises as summer reserves shrink

Demand rises as summer reserves shrink

A–B, E–F: historical climate / 2020 demand → 2075 SSP5-8.5, reference development.

A–B · Irrigation shortage grows in summer. Unmet requests at the source: 29 → 215 million m³/year.

C · Urban demand increases. 265 → 357–546 million m³/year by 2075.

D · Groundwater response is uncertain. Net support to rivers may rise or fall; the growing municipal pumping (panel C) is already inside the runs.

E–F · Less water in late summer. August flow 125 → 59 m³/s; September storage 101 → 53 million m³.

Implication. Test intakes, reservoir releases and urban pumping together before allocation decisions.

Model means; ranges are model differences, not probabilities. Fixed irrigation system; glacier loss excluded.

3.3 Hydrological balance and water availability in future scenarios

Less river flow and storage in late summer

ComparisonHistorical2075, SSP5-8.5
August flow at Chumyshm³/s125(113–137)59(16–85)
September Orto-Tokoy storagemillion m³101(89–113)53(20–82)

Less August flow at the shared Chumysh source, a smaller September reserve in Orto-Tokoy: monthly model means under existing rules.

Implication. Test reservoir operation and downstream commitments together; no additional allocable volume.

Reference development; 1995–2011 weather with 2020 demand vs 2067–2083. Three-model means; ranges are model differences, not probabilities. Fixed irrigation; glacier loss excluded.

3.3 Hydrological balance and water availability in future scenarios

Urban demand also changes the water balance

Municipal and industrial demand rises from about 265 million m³/year (2020) to 357, 448 or 546 by 2075.

Specified assumptions; modelled groundwater pumping is part of that demand.

Groundwater–river exchange responds to climate, recharge and pumping; results cannot set local drawdown or sustainable pumping.

Low / reference / high development. Full comparison: Figure 27 of the draft plan. Groundwater levels remain unchecked against observations.

3.7 Safety of dams

Current inspections are the starting point for dam safety

Bring reservoir and dam inventories together with current inspections, operating rules and maintenance records.

Check seepage, deformation, outlet works and the ability to release water safely.

Agree downstream warning and emergency arrangements. Historical inspection categories do not certify present safety.

3.4 Priorities for water use and evidence for permit decisions

What a permit decision will rest on

The plan gives the evidence; the authorities decide. Who has priority when water is short is a legal and institutional choice, not a model output.

A permit at an intake is checked against the passport of its water body: natural supply, the ecological-flow quantity, existing lawful uses, return water and what is needed downstream.

The candidate list, the screening tiers and the Q95 quantity create no water rights; they are the basis for a decision, not the decision.

4 Action plan and recommendations

Action plan and recommendations

Chapter 4 remains to be prepared in the draft completed on 13 September.

The preceding chapters give the basis: targeted monitoring, reliable irrigation delivery, drinking-water source protection, pollution control and hazard follow-up.

The programme still needs agreed measures, responsible institutions, timing, costs and indicators.

Executive summary

What the plan achieves

A comprehensive characterisation of the basin: one water balance, its seasonality, its groundwater and its transboundary share.

A multi-level hydrological model, natural and managed, that enriches this understanding and tests futures.

A comprehensive set of water-management units: 81 candidate water bodies, from the mountains to the border.

A passport for each water body: supply, ecological-flow quantity, usage, pressure, risks, actions.

Main pressures defined and risks screened, with the outlook under climate change and growth.

An action plan derived from all of this, water body by water body (Chapter 4, next).

5 Appendices

The supporting evidence

  • 5.0 Basin characterisation
  • 5.1 Water bodies
  • 5.2 Hydrological data
  • 5.3 Modelling documentation
  • 5.4 Risk assessment

Detailed data, methods and limitations remain in the appendices.

5 Appendices

The tools for using and updating the plan

  • 5.5 Water-supply passports
  • 5.6 Maps
  • 5.7 Metadata catalogue
  • 5.8 Consultation record
  • Glossary and bibliography

The candidate status, evidence limits and source periods travel with each product.

5 Appendices

References and sources consulted

  • Chu River Basin Plan 2027–2031, draft v0.1 (13 September 2026): main report, Chapters 1–3; Annexes 5.0 basin characterisation, 5.1 water bodies, 5.2 hydrological data, 5.3 modelling documentation, 5.4 risk assessment, 5.5 supply passports, 5.6 maps.
  • Chu Basin Plan 2020: Tables II.2.2.4.1 (rivers of the formation zone), II.2.2.5.1 (karasu), II.2.2.6.1 (return water), II.2.2.7.1 (resources and stated accuracy). Plan-writer chapter 2 (1 September 2026): Tables 2.3.63, 2.3.65, 2.3.67.
  • Water Code of the Kyrgyz Republic, 27 June 2025 No. 128. Regulation on the division of flow in the Chu basin, 24 February 1983; Protocol of 18 February 1985; Agreement of 1992; Nukus Declaration 1995.
  • Resources of Surface Waters of the USSR, vol. 14 issue 2 (1973); Scientific-applied climate handbook of the USSR, issue 32 (1989); Hydrogeology of the USSR, vol. XL, Kirghiz SSR (1971); Shults, Rivers of Middle Asia (1965); State Hydrological Institute channel balance 1971–1975.
  • Aizen, Aizen & Melack (1996), J. Hydrology 186; Dikikh & Dikikh (2004), KRSU; Moldoshev & Shakhin (2017), Hydrometeorology and Ecology 3; Litvak (2025) and Litvak et al. (2016, 2023); Ó Dochartaigh et al. (2000), BGS WC/00/14; Morris et al. (2006), Hydrogeology J. 14.
  • USSR Glacier Catalogue vol. 14 issue 2 (1971); Catalogue of Glaciers of Kyrgyzstan (CAIAG 2018); Randolph Glacier Inventory v6; CHELSA V2.1; HYDRO4U irrigated land; Copernicus land cover; NASA ICESat-2 ATL13; OpenStreetMap; HydroWASTE; Esri World Imagery.
  • Kyrgyzhydromet and Kazhydromet gauge records 1995–2019 (CA-discharge, Marti et al. 2023); Chu Oblvodkhoz planning ledger 2019–2026; 2TP-vodkhoz statistics 2020–2024; candidate water-body register release 2026-08-24-m6r-partition-v8; gridded water-demand assessment (hydrosolutions 2026); Pressure Review Atlas.
  • Model basis: backbone release R1 (natural regime NH-WIP-1, 2003–2019; coupled generation CM-1; twelve climate-development cases). All figures: reports/figures/figure_catalog.csv of the project repository, each with its data sources.
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