The editors of FBRK continue to investigate how the capital's main source of drinking water became surrounded by areas with different types of land use.
Previously, our editorial team published a series of articles about the lands surrounding the Astana (Vyacheslav) Reservoir — the main source of drinking water for the capital's residents.
We reported in detail about the agricultural plots located in close proximity to the reservoir. Furthermore, our editorial team recently discovered that the Astana Reservoir is bordered by land designated for forestry, which theoretically should help maintain the reservoir's ecosystem. However, in practice, these lands were found to be divided into plots that are either privately owned or leased on a long-term basis.
Following our publications, we sent official inquiries to the relevant authorities. The responses we received paint a picture of complex inter-agency relationships and potential risks to a water body of strategic importance. A reasonable question arises: are the current measures sufficient to protect the capital's water supply source?
The Water Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan mandates the establishment of protection zones and buffer strips with restrictions on economic activity around water bodies. Within these water protection buffer strips, the construction of buildings, gardening, and any work that disturbs the soil is prohibited. In the water protection zones, it is not permitted to site livestock farms, fertiliser warehouses, or landfills, or to apply pesticides. For the Astana Reservoir, water protection zones have been established with a width of 500–1000 metres and buffer strips with a width of 50–100 metres. Additionally, there are supposed to be three sanitary protection zones, the first of which must be at least 100 metres from the water's edge.
On paper, the protection looks robust. But how effectively are these measures implemented in practice?
The Akimat of Astana states in its response that, at the time of allocation, the agricultural land plots were under the jurisdiction of the Tselinograd district of the Akmola region, and that the land relations department was only established in 2005 and does not have information regarding the allocation of land plots prior to that period.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Relations, and Entrepreneurship of the Arshaly district, commenting on the situation with the forest fund lands, informs us that a sanitary protection green zone has been established around the reservoir by allocating land plots to the state enterprise "Zhasyl Aimak", which is subordinate to the Committee for Forestry and Wildlife of the Ministry of Ecology (approximately 3,000 hectares). However, in the same district, operating in a manner particularly interesting from the perspective of compliance with water protection legislation, is, for example, the LLP "Breeding Farm Arshaly". We have previously reported that this enterprise owns two plots with a total area of 10,250 square metres right at the edge of the reservoir and specialises in raising cattle and horses. The legislation, we recall, contains a direct prohibition on locating livestock facilities within water protection zones. But this fact, it seems, bothers no one.
Incidentally, the state enterprise on the right of economic management "Zhasyl Aimak", which is formally engaged in the country's landscaping, is increasingly appearing in the news not for planting trees, but due to scandals and criminal cases. For instance, in September last year, it was discovered that in Astana, over 600 employees of the enterprise had not been receiving their salaries for months. The total debt exceeded 144 million tenge.
The Ministry of Ecology, for its part, provided a list of 18 companies operating within the territory of the third zone of the reservoir's sanitary protection area, including the aforementioned "Breeding Farm Arshaly" and LLP "Mikhailovskoye", about whose activities we have also previously written. At the same time, the department notes that inspections of these enterprises were not carried out in 2024. A logical question arises: how is compliance with the requirements of water protection legislation monitored if inspections are not conducted?
Additional questions are raised by information received from the State Institution "Department of Natural Resources and Regulation of Nature Management of the Akmola Region". According to the response, the department plans to submit a budget request to find a contractor to develop the Sanitary Protection Zone Project. Is it possible to effectively regulate economic activity near a strategically important water body without a finalised, approved sanitary protection zone project? And why was this document not developed much earlier?
We remind you that previously the editors of FBRK sent official inquiries to the relevant authorities to determine whether the water quality of the Astana Reservoir meets generally accepted standards. As expected, the state bodies confidently state that everything is in order. They also speak just as confidently about the clear demarcation of sanitary protection zones, even though the corresponding project is only just being developed.
So, an analysis of the responses received suggests there is a certain gap between legislative requirements and their application in practice. A well-developed regulatory framework, as is well known, does not always find adequate reflection in the real-world situation. The established practice of land use often comes into conflict with modern environmental standards. The absence of an approved Sanitary Protection Zone Project may hinder the regulation of activities in the territories adjacent to the reservoir.
And considering the issues we have previously raised, there are well-founded concerns regarding the prospects for preserving the reservoir as a reliable source of drinking water for the capital.
The editors of FBRK will continue to monitor the situation.