In March 2025, the government officials opened several modern water purification and wastewater treatment facilities across Ahal, Balkan, Lebap, and Mary velayats. While these facilities are much needed and will enhance water security and hopefully improve public health outcomes for the population of Turkmenistan, not enough details have been made public about these plants such as the composition of the water before and after purification, the standards used for drinking water treatment, the areas and settlements supplied by these plants, and the destinations of the treated water.
Turkmenistan is a party to the Aarhus Convention. The Convention focuses on the public’s right to access information about water and the environment.
What is publicly available information?
- In Kaka etrap of the Ahal region, a wastewater treatment plant with a capacity of 10,000 m3/day is expected to serve the city of Dushak and the nearby villages. The plant is said to have advanced equipment that can promote efficient water use.
- In the city of Gyzylarbat of the Balkan region, a water intake facility complex, including pumping stations and a laboratory for water quality monitoring, opened with a capacity to treat 30,000 m3/day. The plant is said to have also reservoirs for drinking and technical water that is used for firefighting, in addition to water supply and distribution systems.
- In Dowletli of the Hojambaz etrap in Lepab region, a wastewater treatment plant with modern technologies opened that can treat 5,000 m3/day. The treated water has been reported to be reusable for agriculture, thus increasing the water use efficiencies.
- In Tahtabazar etrap of the Mary velayat, a drinking water treatment facility with a capacity of 20,000 m3/day opened, with the water sourced from underground reserves and expected to provide uninterrupted supply to the city of Serhetabat and nearby areas.
State media and institutions
The news about these facilities have been reported by the government media, but no state institution has any reporting on the website. In Turkmenistan, the State Committee on Water Management of Turkmenistan is responsible for development and implementation of the state policy on use and protection of water bodies. The Committee is also responsible for water supply to the population and other sectors of the economy. However, no mention of these state institutions and facilities were in the state news.
The municipalities that will benefit from these plants also do not reveal more details on their websites, with no mention of the news in Ahal and Mary velayats. The municipality of Lebap velayat reported the opening of the new facility but did not publish more details. The municipality of Balkan velayat also reported an opening of a water treatment facility with a bit more detail. The water for the plant is reported to originate from the Karakum river, collected in an open reservoir, then purified in the facility passing through filters, and then sent for further distribution. The future plans for this facility include supply of purified water to a new village that is being built near the Altyn Asyr lake via a 156 km long pipeline.
Are the added capacities enough?
As covered earlier by the Progres team, around 44.7% of wastewater is collected in the country, with 34.1% of total wastewater being treated (The World Bank, 2024). However, there are no details on the number of water purification or wastewater treatment plants on the official websites of the State Committee on Water Management of Turkmenistan or the municipalities.
However, when comparing the capacities of the new plants with the population size that they are to serve, we observe and conclude the following:
- In Dushak (Ahal) the population of the city is around 8,405 people, which means that the facility can treat 1.2 m³ of wastewater/day/person. This is excluding the nearby villages that the plant is expected to serve, as the exact locations were not provided.
- In Dowletli (Lepab) with the population of 4942 people, the estimated wastewater treatment capacity is about 1 m³/day/person.
- In Serhebat (Mary), with a population of 16,038 people, the capacity is estimated to be around 1.25 m³/day/person. However, the nearby areas are not included since the data on which villages are served was not revealed.
The estimated capacities of 1-1.25 m³/day/person for wastewater treatment are significantly higher than the estimated wastewater production ranges in literature, which are reported to be 0.07-0.14 m³/day/person in Turkmenistan. However, these values might be conservative, with wastewater production in Turkmenistan possibly significantly higher. For example, a recent report by UNDP revealed that the city of Ashgabat used 243.7 million m3 in 2020 for economic and everyday needs (excluding agriculture), which gives around 0.65 m3 of water used/day/person, most of which likely ending up as wastewater.
In Gyzylarbat (Balkan), with a population of 48,552 people, the capacity of a drinking water purification plant is estimated at 0.62 m³/day/person. With the freshwater consumption for economic and everyday needs (excluding irrigation, agriculture, and production) of 453.5 million m3 in 2020, the freshwater demand is estimated at 0.18 m³/day/person, which is significantly lower than the estimated water plant capacity. It is possible that the purified water would be used in more settlements or for other purposes, but the information is not known.
Key questions
These infrastructural improvements are significant, but there remains a need for greater transparency. Public access to water quality data, such as contaminant levels before and after treatment, bacterial counts, chemical content, and compliance with health standards is essential. Informed citizens in Turkmenistan can better understand the safety of their water and the environmental impact of wastewater reuse or disposal.
Key questions about the new plants also remain unanswered:
- Are the wastewater treatment plants designed for household sewage only, or do they also process industrial and agricultural waste?
- How exactly is the treated wastewater disposed or reused – in agriculture, landscaping, or other sectors?
- What safety protocols are in place to prevent contamination and protect ecosystems?
These facilities are a positive trend in Turkmenistan’s water infrastructure development. To truly strengthen water security and public health, authorities should prioritize transparency and engage citizens in the monitoring and governance of their limited water resources. Detailed and timely reporting on water treatment outcomes, system interruptions, and maintenance will help build trust and promote responsible water usage across all sectors. Providing daily updates on water purity, contaminant levels, especially salinity levels, and treatment volumes would further inform and benefit the public regarding the services offered by their municipalities.
