2. Water Availability
Kazakhstan ranks 76th out of 169 of the world’s
countries with regard to freshwater reserve per capita.
This roughly correlates to 6,778 m3 per person.
3. Water Pollution
In developing countries, 70 percent of industrial
wastes are dumped untreated into waters, polluting
the usable water supply according to National
Geographic .
According to the Kazakhstan Ministry of the
Environment, most surface and ground water in
Kazakhstan have unsatisfactory levels of pollution.
5. Nura River
In 1972, an acetaldehyde factory in the city of Temirtau
began to discharge large quantities of mercury waste
into the river. Although the factory closed in 1997,
large amounts of mercury remain in the river and the
area around it.
Ash from coal-fired power plants also pollutes the
river.
(Sadykova, Dana (2007-04-02) and Heaven, M.I.; Kamberov, I.M.; Politikov; Tanton, T.W.; Ullrich, S.M.; Yanin, E.P. (2000))
8. Ishim River
One benefit is that the river is primarily snow fed.
Another benefit to Astana is that the Ishim river
begins shortly before reaching Astana.
The lack of distance travelled minimize the
opportunity for contamination.
There is very little heavy agriculture and industrial
infrastructure on the river before it reaches Astana.
9. Ishim River
Without significant exposure to industrial waste, the
heavy metal pollution should not be too high.
Without large scale agriculture, there should be little
pollution due to fertilizers and pesticides.
However, one possible source of contamination are
volatile petroleum compounds (vpc) from automobiles
and water runoff from the cityscape.
11. Water Analysis
One approach to analyze the vpc in the Ishim river is
to is to use gas chromatography – mass spectroscopy
(GC-MS).
To accomplish this, river samples are mixed with equal
portions on cyclohexane before placing samples in the
GC-MS.
The vpc will be analyzed using a GC-MS already
acquired by Nazarbayev University.
13. Water Analysis
One benefit of this research besides determining the
amount of vpc in the river, is that it is relatively easy to
include students in the collection, preparation and
analysis of the samples.
Another benefit will be to expose students to
qualitative and quantitative techniques to monitor
aspects of the environment, and hopefully, instill a
sense of environmentalism.
14. Solutions
Plant trees. 3200 liters of water per year can be saved
by one young tree. A mature tree will use 6400 liters
per year.
Both surface streets and elevated ones can be
retrofitted so nearby collection tanks or ditches can
collect all the runoff during a rain. This water can be
cleaned and reused for keeping city parks and lawns
green. It can be used for city maintenance from car
washing to parking lot cleaning.
17. Conclusion
Currently, we have collected samples from the Ishim
river from various locations in the city.
Due to some technical difficulties, the GC-MS has
been unavailable for analysis.
So, is the water safe?
