The Interstate Commission for Water Coordination has approved water withdrawal limits from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins for Central Asian countries for the 2026-2027 non-growing season, the Water Resources Ministry said.
The commission held its 95th meeting on Oct. 7 in the Avaza national tourist zone in Turkmenistan, with water officials from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan attending, along with heads of the two basins’ water management associations. It also reviewed the 2026 growing season and approved projected operating regimes for reservoir cascades.
On the Amu Darya, discussions focused on flow calculations at the Kerki gauging station, where Asia-Plus reported flow readings differed even when water levels were the same. The commission instructed specialists to find the cause and ensure accurate measurements. It stressed that water distribution must account for the needs of all users in the upper, middle and lower reaches, and highlighted the importance of modernizing gauging stations and deploying digital technology for water accounting and monitoring.
Participants proposed managing reservoirs under mutually agreed procedures, with rapid information exchange and consultations when hydrological conditions change.
On the Syr Darya, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said the growing season ran smoothly. About 3.69 billion cubic meters of water flowed into the Chardara reservoir in Turkistan province, 840 million cubic meters more than forecast. About 10 billion cubic meters are expected during the 2026-2027 non-growing season.
The countries agreed to hold a working group meeting to draft a plan for an automated water accounting system on the Syr Darya. The commission’s 96th meeting is planned for the first quarter of 2027 in Uzbekistan.
In August, Central Asian countries endorsed drafting a plan to automate Syr Darya water accounting. In May, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan agreed on the Bahri Tojik reservoir’s operating regime for June-August 2026.
