Since October 1, 2025, 1.4 billion cubic meters of water have been discharged into the Northern Aral Sea via the Syr Darya River, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation reported. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
During the current growing season, 40 cubic meters of water per second are flowing into the sea. Currently, the water volume in the Northern Aral Sea is 23.5 billion cubic meters. Compared to last year, the salinity of the sea water has decreased by an average of 10% to 7.9 ppm. In the first half of 2026, 4,200 tons of fish were caught from the sea.
During a working trip to the Kyzylorda region, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov met with fishermen of the Aral district to discuss increasing the water volume in the sea. "We know that water use limits in agriculture have been established. However, some farmers do not comply with these requirements. Therefore, we believe this issue should be strictly controlled. We, fishermen, are located downstream of the Syr Darya, so it is very important for the stability of the region's fisheries that farmers use water sparingly. The saved water is essential for preserving the region's water bodies," said Adilbek Ayimbetov, director of Aral Service and Procurement Center LLP.
The fishermen also proposed building the Amanotkel waterworks or a lock to more efficiently supply water to the Syr Darya River. This would increase the throughput capacity to 100 cubic meters of water per second.