Herlen-GobiHerlen-Gobi, a pipeline to water the Gobi, necessity, dream or close reality?The Gobi desert is a vast depression, a land of extremes, where temperatures can fall up to 40 ° within the same day. It contains a system of basins with many sandy or stony plains and cercled by ridges. Brutal winds and a immutable atmospheric mecanism rule this place: high pressure during the cold and dry winter and low pressure during summer, with many dry and warm thunderstorms. The precipitations in summer barely exceed 150 mm in the Gobi and rivers, rare and irregular get lost in the sand or in salted lakes, dried most part of the year. Many wells have been drilled by the soviets after the 50's in order to use the undeground water. Those wells are to be added to those made by the nomads who know better than anybody else where to find water for their survival. But during my journey in the Gobi, I have observed that more than half of the pumping wells were abandonned or unusable (closed or filled in). Apparently, 60% of the 35 000 motorized well should not be usable ¹. Indeed, since the soviet have left Mongolia in 1992, very few wells have been drilled and the russians have taken with them all documents concerning the underground water and the soil, and have even destroyed some wells. Moreover, climatic changes have diminished the underground water level and dried some wells. As a result, overgrazing is increasing and can be important around wells and gers. I have experienced overgrazing and often prefered to spend the night in wild areas so that our camel could graze correctly. Today, the knowledge of underground water and soil ressources of the Gobi seems to be an oral priviledge for an old generation that has worked with the russians. Since there is no sufficient financial support and considering the high cost of any underground survey, nomads shall continue to drink water, that according to the international criteria is unsafe. I have seen shallow wells that have not been used for a long time (water to be found at 1.5 to 5 m under the surface level) with dark and stinky water. On surface, the soil was infested by tics looking eagerly for animal blood. If pumped daily, the water seems then to be drinkable - I didn't suffer from any trouble and haven't seen any nomad suffering from any trouble directly related to water consumption - eventhough sometimes slightly salted. But, according to specialists, this surface undergound water is very hard, has a high level of minerals and low level of fluoride. The PNUD indicates that it generates kidney and urinary tract diseases, thyroid disorders, tooth decay and it might contribute to limit the life expectancy at birth.Those small surface wells, in stone, concrete or earth reinforced with tires are mostly manuals and there is often no bucket to get the water if no ger is setteling next to it. I have noticed manual arm lever mecanism, rotative crank activated by horse and a few times, a chain system, very smart and simple that pulls up a rubber plug and the water catched in, that then flows by gravity to the feeder. All those wells are indeed combined with an animal feeder in order to enable animals to drink. And to give water to a thirsty camel livestock when having to get it manualy is not an easy work, each animal needs between 80 and 100 l. Concerning the irrigated agriculture, I have observed only 3 irrigated areas over the 1000 kilometers I have crossed. In two cases, it was only small gardens, one for a private and the other for a sanatorium, water being then pumped from the closest well, which requires an important gas consumption. Only the city of Bulgan is surronded by irrigated lands, real paradises of greenland and maze of canals that supply little parcels . The amount of work required for this desert gardening is rather important since all small rectangles are manualy watered every 3 night. Those cultures exist thanks to a spring that provides running water to a lower cost! Such observations have brought me to wonder what solutions could improve life conditions in the Gobi, reduce overgrazing, developp irrigated agriculture that could balance an alimentation often too poor in vitamins and finally provide a better quality water. It is the "Water center support for hydraulic programs in Mongolia" in Oulan Baator that has given me an answer: HERLEN-GOBI, a water supply system for arid regions in the south-east of Mongolia. This project includes a dam and water intake on the Herlen river, 100 km south east from the capital and more than 1000 km of pipelines, 5 booster pump and kiosks for the water distribution every 10 km where needed. The purposes of such a project are many:
The mongolian experts consider that this project is a good alternative to the limits and hazards of the underground water exploitation not always rechargeable and that the "do nothing" alternative would only get the current situation worse. The total investment is US$ 230 million. This cost is planned to be payed off within about 15 years by selling the water at different prices, in order not to put a disadventage to nomads that could not afford it. The prices proposed are the as follow: - Industry: 0.9 Tugrigs (90 mongos / 0.0001 $) - Cities: 0.5 Tugrigs - Agriculture: 0.2 Tugrigs - Environment: free of charge, the remining water will be allocated to public purposes Of course, such a project, before to get enthousiastic, requires a serious reflexion about the environmental consequances and a complete impact study that should be recognized and followed. It is also planned to create a project team responsible for the project that would gather varisous skilled specialists and that would then become an autonomous implementation organization in charge of the management of the system. It already appears that soil and landscape pollution are limited considering that the pipelines will be underground (less sensitive to frost) and carrying water (and not oil!). Remains the impact of the dam and the water intake on the Herlen river not to reproduce any similar situation as in Central Asia with Amou Daria and Syr Daria, which has seriously diprived some population of water and dried the Aral see (or more locally, the Ulaan lake in south Mongolia). A detailed study will decide of the maximum reasonable intake, shall the organisations and government follow it! But before to build the first stone of a project, that has appeared to me as seriously considered and resulting of the desire to developp a country and improve hard life conditions, the budget has to be found. Avoiding the trap of corruption existing here and there might not be as easy and moreover, the Mongolian government is not able to support alone the cost. But having met and lived among the nomads and according to their questions and reflexions (quality of water, mecanisation of the wells, proudness of their garden?) I believe that this project would be considered with enthousiasm by the population. Description of the journey Arvakheir - Sainshand
Schema of the overall Herlen Gobi project ¹ PNUD datas |
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