Behzod GaybullaevNational Chung Hsing University

The Aral Sea: A case study on providing clean and safe water in the

Aral Sea Region

Advisor: Prof. Su-Chin CHEN

26.03.2010

Contents• Introduction• Materials and Methods• Results• Conclusions

Main informationProject title:

Improvement of the quality of drinking and irrigation water in the Aral Sea Region bycleaning equipment and sorbents produced in the Czech Republic

Project number: 81/04-06/MZe/B

Realization period: 2008 (summer and winter )

Donor: Ministry of Agriculture of Czech Republic

Project Coordinator:Czech University of Life Sciences Prague,

Main partners in Uzbekistan:National University of UzbekistanKarakalpak branch of Academy Sciences of UzbekistanUrgench State University

Project Objectives Creating Czech water cleaning product facilities

infrastructure; Helping on providing to the Aral sea region people with

clean drinkable and safe technical water; Helping to improve of water management; Restricting ecological pollution; Introducing specialists and widely rural people with

modern technologies of water cleaning systems.

Introduction The Aral Sea, once the fourth largest lake in the world, has

shrunk more than 79 % since 1960 (surface area 68.000 km2),due to the massive cotton irrigation during the Soviet period.

Decreasing of Aral Sea basin has brought many problems andone other main problem is appearing of sewage water.

Each year, wind whips 45 million metric tons of salty andcontaminated dust into the air, contributing to health problemssuch as tuberculosis, anemia, kidney diseases, diarrhea, cancerand others (UNESCO 2000, UNDP 2007, Micklin P., 2008,Kostianoy 2006).

It’s increasing to air temperature (hotter summers andcolder winters).

The problem of the drinking water: Because, deficiency of drinking water quality; The poor water quality from the natural source, The poor water treatment technologies in the majority of

Aral Sea Region.

Materials and MethodsStudy Region

The Aral Sea Region, Karakalpakstan and Khorezm Regions locatedin the northwestern part of Uzbekistan,

The geographic position of the region is between 41°08′ and 41°59′ Nlatitude and 60°03′and 61°24′ E longitude,

The region is arid continental climate and is located between theKarakum and Qizilqum deserts,

Average annual precipitation is less than 100 mm (spring and fall), The mean annual temperature averaged 13°C, but daily extremes of

28°C and 45°C, hottest month is July (Djalalov et al., 2005). The coldest month is January, average temperature of - 60C

maximum is - 360C, mountain zone of - 450C (Forkutsa, 2006).

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The water samples were collected from the places of Nukus andMuynak cities where the water conditions (salty water) are not safeand harmful (summer hottest) for people health in the Aral Seaarea.

From this point of view the Republican children anti-tuberculosis(TB) sanatorium was the worst places among the chosen places inNukus.

At first, the groundwater salinity is worse then other places, at thesecond the sanatorium is directed to medical treatment for childwho are suffering from TB.

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Map of Uzbekistan

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Aral Sea Region in the Uzbekistan

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Preparation to deliver construction equipments to Uzbekistan

12

Loading material for the distribution networks (water pipe and the canalization)

13

Navvy works

Training project participator staff14

15

Ceremonial transmitting delivered technologies

16

Collection data in the children’s sanatorium in Nukus

17Trial cleaning process consulting with local specialist

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Trial cleaning: training research workers on UNU (Urgench National University)

MethodologyThe methodology used in the research including:

• The collection of water samples from chosen places in Aral Sea region (1),

• The laboratory analyses of water chemical composition andthe level of its pollution (2),

• The water sample was treated twice by water cleaning device(3),

• an evaluation of water cleaning device efficiency (4).

Places of Samples Collection: Muynak town – water well; Nukus town – irrigation canal, the water supply of the Republican Children

Anti-TB Sanatorium.

Monitored Water Characteristics:

• Magnesium (Mg)• chlorides • Dissolved substances• temperature

• Calcium (Ca)• Sulfates• pH• conductivity

Testing Water Treatment Equipment:

• AQUAL 400• IVK-filter (Uzbek product)• eSpring

ELEKO EGGIS Envirolyte Eco 120

Reverse Osmosis AQUEL 400, ECO-120, and IVK havechosen for further implementation of the research.

These equipments purify soluble substances of waterfrom 850 mg/l until 400 mg/l (in some conditions waterpurification process has implemented twice which 7830 –7950 mg/l dissolved substances of water) by cleaningfrom microbes and other damages of water,

Results

Equipments

Nukus, the Children anti-TB sanatorium,

DS mg/l

Muynak, water wellDS mg/l

Nukus, irrigation canal,

DS mg/lwinter summer winter summer winter summer

Water sample 850 825 1220 1280 900 820

AQUEL-400 620 400 950 1180 650 690

ECO-120 620 480 900 1250 720 730ELEKO+EGGIS 600 500 950 1210 650 800

eSpring 600 450 900 810 700 750IVK 580 500 800 1050 650 750

The changes of the content of dissolved solids (DS) in the sample after the treatment by different types of water cleaning devices

• At last, the anti -TB sanatorium treatment hospital which is setfor 250 and 300 children during the winter and summerperiods.

• According to the situation of the sanatorium the process wasdivided into two stages:

• Producing technical water (1) and producing drinkable waterfrom the technical water(2).

• The technical water is used for bathing, cooking, andsanitation and so on.

• Drinkable water is used for drinking local children in thesanatorium.

Water temperature 15.2 °C

pH 8.24Salt 7840 mg/lTotal hardness 17 mmol/l

After checking water content by laboratory analyses hastaken these water parameters:

Water purification parameters for technical water:

Water in the storage tank 50 m3

Salt content in water before the process 7830 – 7950 mg/lSalt content after the process 2200 – 3014 mg/l

It is estimated about 3.15 hours to produce technical water and fromstorage tank is used about 4200 liter water to produce 3600 litertechnical water

Water purification parameters for drinkable water, drinkable water producing has implemented after the technical water process:

Water in the technical storage tank 3600 liter

Salt content in water before the process 2200–3014 mg/l

Salt content after the process 650 – 753 mg/l

It is estimated about 35 minutes to produce drinkable waterand has produced 1250 liter drinkable fresh water.

Conclusions All tested equipment reacted on water contents differently, As a result of these testing and lab analysis the optimal water treatment

method has been found, The most effective devices: AQUEL 400, ECO-120 and IVK system, Taking into account the specific conditions in Aral Sea Region in order to

reach the best treatment parameters it is recommended to use the followingtechnological sequence:

Remote suspended solids by different type of mechanical filters; Decrease of total water hardness, in our case achieved by IVK filters; Decrease of dissolved solids including salt by Reverse Osmosis system; As the Reverse Osmosis system decreases the content of useful minerals,

there must be done re-mineralization before water supply to the endconsumer.

References Micklin P., 2008. "The Aral Sea Disaster”, Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 35 (4):

pp.47–72. Doi:10.1146/annurev.earth.35.031306.140120. 05.17.2008 Krepl V., 2007. Project 81/04-06/MZe/B Report. ( Embassy of Czech Republic, Uzbekistan) The Aral Gene Fund information’s www.aralgenefund.org UNESCO, 2000. Water-related vision for the Aral Sea basin for the year 2025. United Nations

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations, Paris, France UNDP (United Nations Development Program) (2007): Water–Critical Resource for Uzbekistan’s

future. UNDP Tashkent, pp. 38–60, 2007 Kostianov A.G., 2006. Dead and dying seas. Encyclopedia of Water Science. Taylor & Francis doi:

10.1081/E-EWS-120042068 Djalalov, A.A., Ishanov, Kh.Kh. and Azimov, U.A. (2005): Project proposal on strategic planning to

fulfill the principles of integrated water resource management (National report, the Republic ofUzbekistan), p. 46,

Forkutsa, I. (2006): Modeling water and salt dynamics under irrigated cotton with shallowgroundwater in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan. University Bonn, ZEF Series in Ecology andDevelopment, No. 37.

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