As the head of the water usage department of the Yugvodkhoz [South water management] national state enterprise [NSE] in South Kazakhstan Region (SKR), Aygul Omarova, said to the Interfax-Kazakhstan [news] agency on Wednesday [20 February] that Uzbekistan had opened locks on the Grand Fergana and North Fergana canals last Tuesday [19 February].

"Water is being discharged into each of the canals at a rate of 40 cubic meter per second," Omarova said.

At the same time, Uzbekistan has not opened the Janubiy Mirzachol Canal [in central Uzbekistan], into which it was planned to discharge up to 200 cubic meter of water per second in accordance with the agreement between the sides, while the canal has a capacity to receive 300 cubic meter per second, she said.

According to Omarova, "only 20 cubic meter per second is being discharged there at the moment", Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency reported.

According to the Yugvodkhoz NSE, the water is flowing into the Chardara reservoir, located in SKR on the River Syr Darya, at a rate of 1,599 cubic meter per second at the moment. The volume of water in the reservoir, which has a capacity to collect 5.5bn cubic meter, has reached 4.4bn cubic meter The Kazakh authorities say that the discharge of water from the Toktogul reservoir in Kyrgyzstan, which then flows into the River Syrdarya, has a rate of 700 cubic meter per second.