“Master Plan and Pilot Project for Integrated Water Resources Management Based on the Introduction of Information and Communication Technologies in Uzbekistan”

Project objective: to develop a Master Plan for an ICT-based water resources monitoring system in Uzbekistan and establish an integrated database for water resources management.

Project area: the entire territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Project cost: USD 7.0 million.
Financing: grant funding from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
Implementation period: 2016–2020.
Implementing organizations: KRC, GEO C&I Co. Ltd and Fivetek of the Republic of Korea, in cooperation with the Ministry of Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Main project activities
1. Development of a Master Plan for an ICT-based water monitoring system
analysis of existing water management systems in Uzbekistan;
design of a water resources management model and database;
design of a water resources monitoring and management system.
2. Pilot project
- Implementation of an ICT-based water monitoring system and data transmission networks.

Development of the water resources management system:
- development of a water resources monitoring and management system;
- development of software for data collection, monitoring and analysis;
- development of analytical software for data management and technical and administrative activities of the Ministry of Water Resources, basin irrigation system administrations, irrigation system administrations, local authorities and other relevant organizations.

Installation of water monitoring equipment:
- assessment of water resources monitoring sites;
installation of water resources monitoring equipment at 61 locations, including:
- 42 locations at major canals and reservoirs across the country;
- 19 locations within the irrigation system of the Zarafshan River Basin;
- maintenance and calibration of water monitoring equipment;
- modernization of the Ministry’s Water Management Dispatch Center for ICT-based water resources monitoring;
installation and configuration of servers and other equipment for the water management system.
3. Capacity-building programme
- organization of training courses for water-sector specialists in Uzbekistan and the Republic of Korea;
- implementation of five training programmes for Uzbek government officials, engineers and water-sector professionals on the theory and practical application of ICT-based water resources monitoring and information systems;
- strengthening cooperation between the Uzbek and Korean sides to ensure the sustainable operation of the water monitoring system after completion of the project.

Expected results and impacts
- development of a Master Plan for an ICT-based water monitoring system in Uzbekistan;
- installation of water monitoring systems at 61 locations;
- equipping the Ministry of Water Resources’ dispatch center with a six-monitor multi-screen system and a server for data collection and storage;
- establishment of an online water resources monitoring system for major reservoirs, canals, pumping stations and other water infrastructure;
- establishment of an integrated information database for Uzbekistan’s water sector;
- establishment of a decision-support system for water resources management.

Achieved results

Under the project, Korean specialists installed “Smart Water” monitoring devices at 61 water management facilities, enabling online monitoring and control of water resources. In addition, 15 water management facilities were equipped with devices for the online monitoring of meteorological data, including air temperature and precipitation, as well as surveillance cameras enabling visual monitoring of conditions at the sites.

Servers, auxiliary equipment and monitoring systems were installed at the Ministry’s dispatch service to collect, consolidate and store data transmitted by the Smart Water devices. An information system was also developed to create and analyze a centralized database and enable automatic online monitoring of data from water management facilities.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Smart Water devices and the newly developed information system operated in pilot mode. Full commissioning of the system with the participation of Korean specialists was planned following improvements in the pandemic situation.

In addition, KRC was tasked with developing a Master Plan for the wider introduction of modern ICT solutions across water management facilities in Uzbekistan. The plan was intended to set out short- and long-term measures for water accounting and monitoring through the extensive use of modern information and communication technologies.