Abstract:
The article summarizes and analyzes the data of observations on the condition of water resources of the Republic
of Kazakhstan. The rivers and lakes of Kazakhstan are sources of water consumed by the population of
the country for various needs, while the availability of water is reduced, and the demand for it is growing due
to the development of large cities and expansion of business in various regions of the country. Therefore the
problem of saving and rational usage of available water resources is topical. The article shows the factors affecting
the quality of water in open reservoirs as well as the results of observations of fresh water sources for
five years. The analysis of data presented testifies to the deterioration of the environmental situation as a
whole. The number of water resources having class of hazard «pure» is decreasing, and the number of water
sources of «dirty» and «very dirty» classes is increasing. It is noted that the most contaminated areas are the
territories of East Kazakhstan and Karaganda, Aktobe and Zhambyl regions. The level of pollution of fifteen
water resources was determined, it was noted that the main pollutants are zinc, manganese, nickel and nitrogen
compounds. The analysis of the data presented indicates the need to address the serious problem caused
by fresh water pollution due to an increase in the amount of sewage, and ways to solve this problem should
have a legislative basis that will protect the environment from the harmful effects of anthropogenic factors.
