BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec.10
By Ilhama Isablayeva - Trend:
On average, 300-350 million cubic meters of clean and high-quality water can be obtained annually through the kariz [underground hydraulic system] in Azerbaijan, Director of the Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), Corresponding Member of ANAS Alovsat Guliyev told Trend.
According to Guliyev, in Azerbaijan, out of 623 qanats (with the exception of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic) registered with the state, 332 were located in territories that were under Armenian occupation for almost 30 years.
“At present, after the liberation of the Azerbaijani lands from the occupation, we have the opportunity to receive an average of 300-350 million cubic meters of clean and high-quality water through the kariz annually. Until the beginning of the 20th century, Baku, Ganja, Barda, Nakhchivan, Ordubad, and other cities of the country, as well as more than 200 rural settlements, were provided with water by means of qanats. In 1938, 885 qanats were officially registered in Azerbaijan. Their water consumption was 13,354 cubic meters per second, and the annual volume was 420 million cubic meters,” Guliyev said.