Water resources are surface and groundwater that are suitable for use in a given territory. The boundaries of the territory can be administrative (district, region, republic) or geographical (river basin, continent). The determination of the volume of water resources is based on the calculation of the water balance of the territory.
The main component of water resources consists of surface waters - waters that are found on the Earth's surface in solid and liquid states (waters of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, swamps; glaciers, snow cover).
Water is the most abundant substance on Earth and, at the same time, the most important for sustaining organic life on it. Water is necessary for all areas of human activity without exception.
Water is the medium of life for many organisms, a necessary component of the habitat of living organisms on land. Modern social production is based on the extensive use of water, which is used in the process of energy production.
Water truly permeates all aspects of human life. A lack of water is a severe disaster for people. Water on Earth is in continuous motion - a cycle. There is almost no mineral or living organism that does not contain water.
Academician A.E. Fersman rightly called water the most important mineral on Earth, without which there is no life on Earth. This issue becomes particularly relevant due to the sharp increase in anthropogenic impact on the environment, especially on water resources. Water consumption doubles every 10-12 years. At the same time, water pollution increases, i.e., there is a qualitative deterioration of water. Therefore, in our time, water has become one of the most scarce natural resources in many countries of the world.
The Kyrgyz Republic has significant water resource reserves: 50 billion m³ per year of surface river runoff, 13 billion m³ per year of potential groundwater reserves, 1745 billion m³ per year of lake water, and 650 billion m³ of glaciers (National Report on the State of the Environment 1997, p. 25). The total water resources of the Chui Valley, according to specialists, amount to 3034 million m³.
