13.5bln m³ of water supplied to Balkhash since early 2024

13.5 billion cubic meters of water were supplied to the Balkhash Lake from the Kapshagay Reservoir through the Ili River since the year beginning, Kazinform News Agency learned from the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.

As a result, the average level of water in the lake reached 341.60 meters according to the Baltic system.

According to the ministry, approximately 70% of water in the lake is formed by the Ili transboundary river. This year, the average runoff at the Dobyn gauging station on the Kazakh-Chinese border made 384 cubic meters per second, which is 17% more against the last year.

Presently, Kazakhstan and China are developing a draft intergovernmental agreement on distribution of transboundary rivers between Kazakhstan and China. The goal of the agreement is to ensure inflow of the sufficient volume of water which will let maintain Balkhash Lake at an optimum level.

“We have held 28 meetings on transboundary rivers with China, Russia, and Central Asian countries. Following the talks, for the first time in the past decade, we have gathered more than 18 billion cubic meters of water in the Kapshagai reservoir and filled it by 100%,” Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, the minister of water resources and irrigation, says.

As previously reported, 16.7 billion cubic meters of water have been directed to the Caspian Sea from the Zhaiyk River since the year beginning.