The total hydropower potential of all small rivers of Azerbaijan is 4.508 billion kW/hours(Table 2).
Table 2. Evaluation of hydropower potential of the rivers of Azerbaijan according to provinces
Provinces
Power of the river, mln kWt
Energy of the river,
billion.kWt.h
Greater Caucasus
2,10
1.838
Lesser Caucasus
2,08
1.823
Nakhcivan
0,61
0.535
Lenkaran
0,36
0.312
Total
5,15
4.508
The main findings of the research are:
to assess the hydro energy potential of small rivers has been created (hydrological and morphometric)
data base
• Hydropower potential of small rivers is estimated (5.15 million kWt).
At the next stage it is proposed to carry out the following tasks:
• Calculation of technical and economic indicators of hydropower resources of small rivers;
• Creating a hydroenergy cadastre of small rivers for each administrative district;
• Preparation of proposals for the protection of river ecosystems, when small HPPs are built on small
rivers.
Discussion
However, it should be noted that the small HPPs that don’t have the capacity to regulate flow are in line
with the river regime. Therefore, in the dry and poor water period, such HPPs have significantly less power than
the design capacity (up to zero). Such conditions create a breakthrough in energy supply of consumers.
Therefore, small HPPs must be connected to local power lines fed from other sources.
Small HPPs can be built not only on small rivers, but also on irrigation canals that aren’t very
large.Sometimes, the small rivers are important for water economy. The use of height differences created by
these points in order to obtain energy doesn’t require much spending.
At present, interest in small hydropower in different countries is increasing day by day. Thus, state
commissions, committees, institutions are created to conduct research to use energy of small rivers.
Rivers as traditional energy source have some advantages. The main advantage is that hydroenergy is
environmentally friendly.
References
Imanov F.A. «Water infrastructure of Kura river basin within Azerbaijan» / International congress river basin management.
Volume I. 22-24 March 2007 Antalya – Turkey.
Bahadori. A., Gholamrez. Z, Sohrab.Z. “An overview of Australia’s hydropower energy: Status and future prospects”. Renew.
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Assessment of water resource use and management in Azerbaijan
A.R.Maharramova, A.A.Nuriyev
Baku State University
amaharramova@bsu.edu.az
Key words: water resource, water use, water supply, irrigation, sustainable development
Introduction
It is known that our republic has limited water resources. The cause of so weak country’s water
supply of our Republic is unfavorable natural conditions. However, research shows that the
potential
water resources of our republic can afford the water needs of industry, agriculture and population.
Water resources are 27-31 km
3
per year. In many regions, especially in the Absheron the water
shortage mainly connected with the improper use of water.
The analysis shows that, each year 12 km
3
water is taken from water basins and 1,1-1,2 km
3
freshwater is taken from underground layers in our
republic. The republic's water demand is 11.0 -13.0 km
3
. 20-25% of transferred water is used for
industrial and domestic purposes. Volume of waste water which is thrown into water objects is
hesitates about 160-170 million m
3
.
Efficient use of water resources is based on the principles of proper use of water resources in
extreme conditions. So that, water resources assessment should be planned according to drought
conditions, especially for agriculture.
Drought is an insidious hazard of nature. It is often referred to as a "creeping phenomenon" and
its impacts vary from region to region. Drought can therefore be difficult for people to understand. Its
impacts result from the interplay between the natural event (less precipitation than expected) and the
demand people place on water supply, and human activities can exacerbate the impacts of drought.
Because drought cannot be viewed solely as a physical phenomenon, it is usually defined both
conceptually and operationally.
Materials and methods
According to the Azerbaijan Melioration and Water Management Company OJSC, 6430 million
cubic meters of water is spent on irrigation and agricultural supply in Azerbaijan.
In 2014, about a one of third of the water supply was lost while transporting to consumers, and
most of these losses are related to the water which used in agriculture. In fact, 89 per cent of the total
water which supply in the agricultural sector and about three quarters of lost water can be attributed.
The main reason for the losses is that, there are plenty of soil channels (especially in rural areas), which
are less efficient compared to the modern infrastructure.
In order to increase efficiency in water use, rehabilitation of old pipelines in Azerbaijan (pipelines
causing large losses during water transportation) will
be invested; the soil canals will be cleaned every
two or three years to reduce leaks, investments will be channeled to irrigation canals rather than land
canals and a development plan will be developed to prevent excessive irrigation in rural areas.
According to the Azerbaijan Melioration and Water Management Company OJSC, capital
investments in this field have increased in recent years, the material and technical base of the site has
been significantly strengthened, rehabilitation, reconstruction and construction of thousands of
kilometers of irrigation canals and collector-drainage networks has been carried out in 266,000
hectares
irrigated lands, improved reclamation status in 218,000 hectares, 43,000 hectares of new irrigated areas
were involved in agriculture, 1493 subartesian wells were drilled, more than 1,000 km of coastal ponds
and dams were
repaired in Kur, Aras and mountain rivers was held.
Results
If we talk about drought conditions limitations, the water use restriction, which reflected in world
practice, should be taken into account. This includes the use of water restrictions in outdoor areas such
as water use, fountains, golf courses, pools, and so on. These prohibitions may be of the following form:
• Restraining the water from the lawn
• Car washing control
• Reducing the use of recreational water, such as filling of pools and use of water entrances
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