Kazakhstan digitizes data on over 23,000 water bodies, including 1,200 hydraulic structuresKazakhstan has launched a National Water Resources Information System  into commercial operation, the Water Resources and Irrigation Ministry said Tuesday."The system consolidates data on water bodies, water management infrastructure, water users, groundwater and other industry elements. Its primary goal is to establish a unified, reliable and up-to-date database to support management decision-making," the ministry said.To date, the system has digitized and structured data on more than 23,000 water bodies, including 17,758 rivers, 3,148 lakes and 1,207 hydraulic structures.The system also registers roughly 3,000 organizations and more than 4,000 users, and contains about 9,000 digital passports for water management and hydraulic facilities."The system's functionality includes water balance management, water use accounting and analysis, reservoir monitoring, transboundary water data management and satellite monitoring," said Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Nurzhan Nurzhigitov. "Its introduction will enable a comprehensive, multi-level water resource management system for sustainable economic development and water security."The ministry has also launched a pilot early water consumption forecasting system, which includes electronic contracts for water supply via canals, online payments and automated water resource accounting. "The contracting process has been fully digitized, with over 29,000 agreements signed with farmers since the start of the year," the ministry said. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX