North Aral Sea

The Northern Aral Sea ( kasach. Солтүстік Арал теңізі, russ Малое Аральское море ), and Small Aral Sea, which is part of the former Aral Sea in Kazakhstan, which is fed by the river Syr Darya. Its outflow is regulated by the Kokaral Dam.

Formation

In order to save at least the northern part of the Aral Sea, a dike was built to retain the water in the 1990s of Kazakhstan. During its existence, increased the water level, the climate improved, and there were again more fish are caught. Because of inadequate design, however, this dam broke after a short time. Was then started in 2003 with the construction of the dam Kokaral. As the World Bank funds available for this set, concrete could be used as building material at this time. In addition to this dam construction, measures were taken to improve the irrigation systems of the Syr Darya, which flows into the lake. Here channels were repaired and filled with concrete to some extent. This additional water should be discharged into the lake. 2005 Kokaral Dam was completed.

Development

By 2006, the lake level rose by 3 meters, the area increased by 900 km ², the volume increased by 11 cubic kilometers and the salinity decreased significantly. Since the lake has an outlet, also decreased the concentration of toxins. As a result, increased fishing yields and the dust load dropped significantly .. In some places the shoreline has shifted by more than 75 kilometers. The Kazakh government hopes that the lake is largely recover by further improvement of irrigation systems.