For many years, the problem of water supply in Buston (former Chkalovsk) has remained acute and unsolvable. During the hot days of summer, the water in apartment buildings is turned off both day and night. Residents also complain about its quality. Why is this happening and when, finally, will there be water in the taps around the clock?
In fact, the reason is trivial – an old worn-out system and equipment that have not changed for decades. Soviet specialists worked hard to build up the city, but sooner or later any communication networks need to be changed. Especially if they have been exploited for 70 years…
Initially, the city of Chkalovsk was built up for the needs of the Leninabad Mining and Chemical Plant, which carried out the extraction and enrichment of uranium ore. A complex but well-thought-out centralized water supply system provided water not only to the plant itself.
Due to the abundance of underground artesian springs, the city was famous for the cleanest drinking water. During the construction of the city, pumps were installed at a depth of 300 meters, and the townspeople remember the time when they drank water directly from the tap.
Now all these sources continue to flow, but residents receive water only for several hours a day and have long stopped using it for drinking and cooking.
Kilometers of old pipes
According to the mayor's office, the city is fed by 18 working wells. In the years of the Soviet Union, such a number was quite enough, but with the population growth (and today about 35 thousand people live in the city), this has become insufficient. The shortage is filled with water from the Khojabakirgan canal.
"We need at least eight additional wells. The potential of groundwater in the city is huge. Many aquifers pass right on the territory of the water intake," - said the Deputy chairman of the city Khurshed Sattorzoda in an interview with “Asia-Plus”.
According to the official, the cost of drilling wells is not that high, but even their proper amount will not solve the water problem.
The main problem is the dilapidated and worn-out pipes that were laid during the construction of the city - in the 50s of the last century.
The total length of the pipeline is 156 km. The system replacement of the entire main highway requires large financial costs. The city budget, according to the mayor's office, is unable to handle such funds on its own.
The problem is trying to be solved in the long term. It was possible to partially find financing within the framework of a project to modernize the water supply system, funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. A few years ago, pipes with a length of just over 13 km were replaced with donor funds.
"But this is only a small part of the entire highway. To continue the work, we need similar projects, attracting investments, and support from the private sector. We are working on this, writing letters, asking for assistance at the regional and national levels. In the meantime, utilities are forced to repair and replace pipes only in certain problematic areas," - commented Subhon Saidzoda, the head of the Buston city Water Distribution and Sewerage Department.
According to him, turning off the water is a necessary measure. If you give it around the clock, dilapidated pipes will not withstand the load. Residents of the "upper" streets and neighborhoods suffer mainly, where water needs to be brought under high pressure.
The problem of the hot period
As noted in the mayor's office, the problem of turning off water occurs only in the hot season, because in summer the water consumption is much higher than in winter.
Moreover, many residents of private houses use drinking water to irrigate their plots, voluntarily connecting to a centralized drainage system.
Employees of the city water utility say that they carry out explanatory work with them and recommend using industrial water for irrigation and watering in the evenings.
"But these measures, unfortunately, do not work. Therefore, the only solution is to "hit the pocket" by installing water meters," - said Khurshed Sattorzoda. - Soon, the provision of drinking water will be carried out through a billing system, as in the case of electricity supply. You did not pay for the spent cubic meters – the water supply is automatically stopped. Such measures will promote a more careful attitude to water consumption."
The mayor's office explained that the water shutdown is carried out according to the established schedule: during the daytime there is no water from 13:00 to 16:00, at night – from 24:00 to 04:00 hours.
"Situations when pumps break down are not excluded. Therefore, in such cases, the water has to be turned off earlier than the set time. The craftsmen are trying to quickly repair the equipment," - said Sattorzoda.
Why is the "cleanest" water muddy?
But this reason was explained to us by the fact that water from artesian wells, due to their shortage, is forced to be mixed with water from the Khojabakirgan canal.
This irrigation canal was built in 1953 on the river of the same name to irrigate the agricultural lands of B. Gafurov and J. Rasulov districts.
In summer, the water in the canal is muddy, but the water intake staff claim that it is suitable and safe to drink. This was confirmed by the sanitary and epidemiological service of Sogd.
"It is muddy because of the sand due to the rapid flow of water in the rivers. As a rule, this happens during the active melting of glaciers. It is enough to let the water settle and solid small particles fall on the bottom - the water becomes transparent," - explained one of the specialists of the canal intake structure.
According to him, in some nearby villages, in particular, in Ovchi-Kalacha, there is no drinking water supply, and villagers have been using water from this canal for drinking for a long time. To do this, residents have built water storage houses in each house for water retention.
The same procedure is performed in Buston. The water coming from the canal through underground pipes is settled in a so-called underground sump with a volume of 2,100 cubic meters.
It is located on the territory of a water intake facility located just beyond the international airport. Chlorination of water is also carried out there.
"In order for the water to become transparent, it needs to be settled for at least 8-10 hours, but we just don't have time to do it. The water consumption exceeds its intake. For example, it is filled by 25-30 cm, by 40 cm we give it to the needs of the population," - explained the employees of the water intake.
If only the available artesian springs are used, residents will receive, as before, clear, clean water. However, in order to have time to fill the tanks again, the water will have to be turned off for a longer period. This is the dilemma.
But we were reassured: in just a month the heat will subside, and the water in the canal will become transparent. They also assured us that in a month they would stop turning off the water. But only during the day, at night, restrictions will continue so as not to create pressure in the pipes.
Next year, the situation with water outages will repeat again, as, indeed, in subsequent years. After all, it is unknown when investors will be found to replace the remaining 140 km of worn-out pipes.
Руcский
