Water usage for irrigation and other purposes by Central Asian states was lower than permitted allotments in 2024, despite generally adequate supplies, according to data published by the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination of Central Asia.

The commission published data separately for Central Asia’s two major water sources, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers. Turkmenistan was the largest consumer of the Amu Darya’s resources, taking slightly more than Uzbekistan. But Tashkent consumed the overwhelming majority of Syr Darya waters, the data shows.

For the Syr Darya, spring rains filled reservoirs beyond expected levels and “during the growing season [in] 2024, water withdrawal was 2.05 km3 less than planned under limits approved” by the commission. Water usage along the agrarian, lower reaches of the Syr Darya “including water withdrawal plus water losses, minus lateral inflow is estimated at 4.29 km3; this is less by 18 percent of the plan,” the commission report added.

The Amu Darya also registered higher than expected inflow into reservoirs. Even so, water flow along the river tended to be lower than forecast volume. Accordingly, water usage was lower than projected, reaching only 85% of the “established water withdrawal limit,” according to the commission’s data. Tashkent had a higher water-use quota in 2024, but Turkmenistan actually used slightly more water, despite the Turkmen population being about one-fifth that of Uzbekistan. 

The data shows the volume of water reaching the Aral Sea was lower than hoped for in 2024. The commission had estimated that 2.1 km3 would reach the “Aral Region and Aral Sea” in 2024 via the Amu Darya River, but only 59% of that amount, or 1.24 km3, was actually reported. Meanwhile, slightly less than the 1 km3 projected to reach the Aral vicinity from the Syr Darya actually did so.

This article first appeared on Eurasianet here.