WATER CODE OF THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

of June 27, 2025 No. 128

Accepted by Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic on April 30, 2025

Chapter 1. General provisions

Article 1. Purpose and tasks

1. This Code governs the water relations in the field of use, protection and development of water resources for the guaranteed, sufficient and safe supply with water of the population of the Kyrgyz Republic, environmental protection and ensuring rational development of water fund of the republic.

2. The relations connected with questions of drinking water supply and water disposal are regulated by the legislation in the field of drinking water supply and water disposal.

Article 2. The main terms and determinations applied in this Code

The terms and determinations applied in this Code mean:

1) the water area - water space within the natural, artificial or imagined (conditional) borders;

2) basin body for water resources - territorial authority of authorized state body on water resources, responsible for water resources management in hydrographic borders of the main pool;

3) the basin plan - the plan for development, use and protection of water resources in borders of certain main pool;

4) basin council - representative body for the solution of questions in the main pool on use, protection and development of water resources;

5) coast - the earth strips adjoining natural water object, relating to lands of water fund;

6) water resources of the Kyrgyz Republic - all waters which are in frontier of the Kyrgyz Republic;

7) water object - any concentration of surface and underground water of natural (natural) origin, including the rivers, streams, springs, lakes, reservoirs, swamps, glaciers and snow patches;

8) water fund - set of all water objects of natural origin, including lands of water fund, and water resources containing in them, except for irrigational fund;

9) the water protection zone - the territory adjacent to the water area of water object or water management construction in which restrictions of economic activity for the purpose of prevention of its pollution, contamination, depletion and instruction are set;

10) the water preserving strips - the territories of strict restriction of economic activity within the water protection zone;

11) water users - legal entities or physical persons of the Kyrgyz Republic, and also foreign legal entities and physical persons, including stateless persons, users of water resources without their withdrawal from water objects for satisfaction of own requirements;

12) water management constructions - water storage basins with dikes, canals, pools of long-term, decade or daily regulation, collectors, drains, ditches, hydraulic engineering constructions, protective dikes, aqueducts, pipelines, bridges, wells, pumping points, water supply systems with communications and other elements of infrastructure, including all parcels of land intended for their operation and maintenance;

13) the main pool - the territory in which all surface water falls into the main river or water object;

14) the delivery agreement of water - the document certifying the water user's right to certain amount of water;

15) drainage systems - the interconnected network of the opened and/or closed collectors and drains, hydraulic engineering constructions, wells of vertical drainage and other infrastructure, including all right-of-ways of lands allocated for ensuring content, operation and repair of drainage systems;

16) pollutant - person who dumps pollutants or waste to places from where they according to the conclusion of state body on environmental protection can get to water object, water management construction or the earth of water fund;

17) pollutants - any substances, objects or their combinations which are negatively influencing health of the person, natural resources and ecosystems capable to do harm to the environment;

18) the earth of water fund - the lands occupied with natural (natural) water objects;

19) the earth of irrigational fund - the lands occupied with water management constructions, objects of irrigational system and infrastructure including branch strips;

20) irrigational systems - the interconnected network of irrigation canals, pipelines, hydraulic engineering constructions, pumping points, wells, water storage basins, ponds and reservoirs with the related roads, buildings, power lines and other infrastructure, including branch strips;

21) irrigational fund - set of all irrigational systems with the water resources containing in hydraulic engineering constructions, including lands along and around such constructions, and also the corresponding infrastructure;

22) artificial water objects - reservoirs, including the ponds or pools created by the person, but not intended for the irrigational purposes;

23) National council on water and land resources - the consultative and advisory body created by the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, coordinating the relations in the field of management, use and protection of water resources of the Kyrgyz Republic;

24) waste - the remaining balance of raw materials, materials, semifinished products, other products and products which are formed in the course of economic activity;

25) payment for irrigational services - the money due (charge rate) for services of the state or municipal supplier in supply of irrigation water to the water user from the state water management or irrigational systems belonging to local government bodies;

26) dike - the hydraulic engineering construction blocking water flow in water object for increase in water level before construction or for water accumulating, or for regulation of drain of water;

27) checking of the metering device - establishment of suitability of measuring instruments to application based on experimentally determined metrological characteristics and confirmation of their compliance to the mandatory requirements established by technical regulations or specified in accompanying documents of manufacturing plant;

28) branch strip - the parcel of land around or along water management construction at least 25 meters wide with the limited mode of use, intended for content, operation and repair of irrigational systems;

29) the supplier of water - territorial authority of authorized body on water economy or other legal entity performing operation and maintenance of irrigational system, fence and transportation of water for giving to the water user on the basis of the delivery agreement of water;

30) works on protection of water resources mean works with the purpose:

- prevention or reducings dumping of pollutants or waste in water objects, water management constructions or the earth of water fund;

- elimination or placement of waste and pollutants;

- neutralizations or mitigations of the pollution caused by presence of pollutants or waste at water object, water management construction or lands of water fund;

- recoveries of condition of water object, water management construction or lands of water fund, including preserving flora and fauna which was before hit of pollutants and waste;

31) permission to water use - the document confirming the right to activities for water use, issued for a period of up to 15 years;

32) permission to dumping of pollutants - the document confirming the right to dumping of pollutants into water objects, collector and drainage systems, fields of irrigation, filtering and evaporation, land relief;

33) collection for use of water resources - the fee established by the Code of the Kyrgyz Republic about the non-tax income;

34) special permission to water use - the permission issued by authorized state body on water resources based on the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic (further - the Cabinet of Ministers) for a period of up to 25 years;

35) sewage (drains) - the waters which are taken away after use in household and productive activity of the person and also atmospheric precipitation;

36) authorized state body in the field of civil protection - specially authorized state body which is taking part in preparation, updating and implementation of plans for case of floods, mud flows and landslides;

37) authorized state body on environmental protection - specially authorized state body in the field of environmental protection, protection and rational use of natural resources;

38) authorized state body on water economy - state body on management of supply of water in the field of irrigation, including interstate water division;

39) authorized state body on water resources - state body on management of use and protection of water resources of the Kyrgyz Republic;

40) authorized state body on hydrometeorology - specially authorized state body which is taking part in preparation of information systems on water, monitoring of water resources and the state water inventory;

41) authorized state body in the field of sanitary and epidemiologic wellbeing of the population - specially authorized state body on ensuring sanitary and epidemiologic wellbeing of the population;

42) ecological drain - minimum admissible drain of water in water object, capable to provide preserving and self-recovery of water ecosystem without causing significant damage by it.

Article 3. Water legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic

1. The water relations in the Kyrgyz Republic are governed by the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, this Code and other regulatory legal acts adopted according to them.

2. The regulations of water law established by other regulatory legal acts shall correspond to this Code.

3. In case of contradictions of the regulations of water law containing in other regulatory legal acts, to provisions of this Code provisions of this Code are applied.

Article 4. Property on water resources and the earth of water fund

1. Water resources of the Kyrgyz Republic are exclusive and inalienable property of the state. Everyone has the right to use water resources within frontier according to provisions of this Code.

2. The earth of water and irrigational funds, occupied with water objects or the state irrigational, drainage systems and water management constructions, are exclusive property of the state, except for the parcels of land of other categories of the lands occupied with artificial water objects.

Article 5. Water resources management and basin approach

1. Water resources management - complex system of the measures, regulations and rules according to this Code and other regulatory legal acts providing development, rational use, protection of water resources and the environment, health protection of people, and also protection of settlements, the industrial territories and all types of property from dangerous influence of waters. Basin approach means that management of use and protection of water resources is performed in the borders of the territory of the main pool by the hydrographic principle relating to the Lake Issyk Kul and the main rivers of the Kyrgyz Republic.

2. The Cabinet of Ministers based on offers of National council on water and land resources establishes zone of activities of each basin state body in the field of water resources and basin council. The made decision is subject to official publication.

3. In each main pool the corresponding basin governing bodies of water resources and basin council provide water resources management according to provisions of this Code.

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