"It is our direct duty to take comprehensive measures to provide the population with drinking water and preserve water resources for future generations," said the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
By 2024, 3,100 kilometers of water supply networks had been built and renovated. According to the results of last year, 98.9% of Kazakhstanis were provided with water supply services: 99.4% of urban residents and 97.8% of rural residents had access to quality drinking water.
(For reference: in 2020, 93.8% of citizens were covered with drinking water, in 2021 - 95.6%, in 2022 - 96.5%, in 2023 - 97.8%).
As part of the implementation of the instructions of the Head of State, 8 projects for the construction and reconstruction of group water pipelines were completed in 2024 in 6 regions of the country: Akmola, Almaty, Kyzylorda, North Kazakhstan, Mangistau and Ulytau regions. This improved the quality of water supply to 49 settlements with a population of 208 thousand.
The implementation of 23 projects for the construction and reconstruction of group water pipelines has begun in 9 regions of the country: Akmola, Atyrau, Almaty, Kyzylorda, Mangistau, Turkestan, West Kazakhstan, North Kazakhstan and Ulytau regions.
As a result of the implementation of all projects, more than 2,100 kilometers of water pipelines will be built to improve the quality of water supply to 420 settlements. 67 settlements with a population of 162 thousand will be connected to the centralized water system.
In 2024, 241 water pipelines were inspected to ensure sanitary and epidemiological supervision over the quality of drinking water. Of these, 209 were in rural areas, 24 in cities, and 8 were group water pipelines. 44 instructions were issued to eliminate the identified violations. In total, more than 66 thousand samples taken from water pipelines across the country were examined.
“We need a state-wide program. Drinking water cannot be used to irrigate gardens. Instead, it is necessary to implement water-saving technologies and search for new sources of water underground,” noted the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
On the instructions of the Head of State, the National Hydrogeological Service “Kazhydrogeology” was established in 2024. The institution carries out prospecting and exploration work for the development and use of groundwater resources in regions with water shortages in the country. Special attention was paid to providing settlements in the west of the republic with drinking water from underground sources.
According to estimates, the reserves of groundwater in Kazakhstan are about 40 billion cubic meters, of which 15 billion cubic meters are ready for use. It is worth noting that 1.2 billion cubic meters of water are consumed annually in the country for drinking water needs.
To increase the volume of groundwater, it is planned to build 42 new reservoirs by 2030 with a total capacity of 2.6 billion cubic meters of water.
“We have been saying for many years that it is important to form a culture of resource conservation in society. But it is not enough to appeal to citizens. In addition, it is necessary to introduce social norms for resource consumption. There are good examples that can be followed,” said the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
In order to effectively use water resources, comprehensive work is being carried out on digitizing the water sector, encouraging the introduction of modern water-saving technologies and switching to drought-resistant crops, as well as reusing treated wastewater in large settlements. In addition, methodological guidelines on water conservation in domestic conditions have been approved.
As part of accelerating the introduction of advanced water-saving technologies, measures have been developed to encourage enterprises to switch to water reuse systems in industry.
The new edition of the Water Code provides for the requirement that enterprises have a plan to switch to water recycling and (or) reuse systems within a five-year period. A model plan for increasing water reuse at industrial facilities in each region until 2030 has been developed and approved.
By the end of 2030, it is planned to increase the share of water reuse in sectors of the economy from 17% to 28%.
In addition, a Methodological Guide to saving water in domestic conditions has been approved, the document includes measures such as timely elimination of malfunctions in taps, use of aeration taps, use of two-button water drain tanks, installation of automatic sensor water mixers, turning on the washing machine only when it is fully loaded, etc.
In 2024, the procedure for charging drinking water for individuals was revised in 6 regions of the country. Social norms of consumption have been introduced (in case of consumption of more than 3 m3 of water per month, the tariff for the volume of water exceeding the norm increases).
This measure has allowed saving an average of 1.65 million cubic meters of water per month in 6 regions: Akmola, Aktobe, Turkestan, Ulytau regions and the cities of Almaty and Shymkent. Before the introduction of social norms of consumption, the average volume of drinking water consumption in all 6 regions was 21.1 million cubic meters, today this figure has decreased to 19.5 million cubic meters.
Complete modernization of water management infrastructure, introduction of advanced water-saving technologies, digitalization of the water metering system, and development of a water-saving culture among the population and enterprises will allow providing the population of Kazakhstan with high-quality water.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/water/press/news/details/937950