Caspian irrigation and watering system

The power source of the system is the Bakhtemir River (a sleeve in the Volga delta ) ^[2] and the Caspian Sea ^[1] . The abstraction of river water is carried out near the village of Olya in the Astrakhan region using a pump station ^[1] . From there, water flows through distribution channels to Harbat Bay. Then the water flows by gravity through the head channel into the Mikhailovsky Canal. The water intake and the Main canal are located in the Astrakhan region . The Mikhailovsky Canal ends with a pumping station that lifts water into the Caspian Canal . From the Caspian canal, water flows into the Lagan reservoir near the city of Lagan ^[2] .

All channels are made in the earthen channel in difficult engineering and geological conditions ^[2] .

Until the mid-90s of the last century, the irrigated lands of the Caspian OOS, the total area of ​​which was 2.2 thousand ha (including 1.2 thousand ha - regular irrigation), were intensively used. Vegetable, melon and fodder crops were cultivated on them. However, a rise in the level of the Caspian Sea led to flooding of the coastal strip over an area of ​​more than 200 thousand ha; as a result, the Caspian environmental protection system was practically decommissioned. Currently, 1277 hectares are listed in the land reclamation fund of the system, of which 1249 hectares are regular, and 28 hectares is under the reclamation network. According to the land reclamation cadastre, as of January 1, 2009, the CEP irrigated lands are in unsatisfactory state in terms of soil salinity and depth of groundwater occurrence ^[1] .