TIIAME National Research University Students: Pioneers in Water Purification and Resource Management

TIIAME National Research University approaches water extraction as a technical and environmental responsibility, not only as a utility service. The university’s internal rules and cooperation agreements are designed to minimise pressure on municipal drinking water networks, limit abstraction from local groundwater and surface sources, and ensure that every cubic metre of water taken is measured, justified and used efficiently.

Campus water sources and reduction of pressure on the drinking water network

The main source of drinking water for the central campus remains the municipal network operated by Toshkent Suv Ta’minoti. All new connections and reconstructions are carried out in line with national regulations on drinking water supply and wastewater disposal, with metering at building and block level. Continuous meter readings are used to detect abnormal consumption and leaks, and to plan gradual reduction of demand through water-saving fixtures and behaviour-change campaigns.

For non-potable needs, especially landscape irrigation, TIIAME NRU deliberately avoids using treated drinking water. On the main campus, green areas are irrigated using harvested and reused rainwater, stored in separate tanks and distributed through an independent technical pipeline. During the hottest months or in periods of low rainfall, this system is supplemented by permitted abstraction of shallow artesian groundwater. Previously, lawns and trees were irrigated directly from the central drinking water network; now irrigation for green areas is supplied almost entirely from rainwater and authorised groundwater sources. In 2024 this shift reduced potable water taken from the central network for irrigation by around 30%, freeing up municipal drinking water for households and other priority users. The same approach is planned to be extended step-by-step to laboratories and experimental plots where non-potable water is acceptable.

Educational and experimental fields: controlled abstraction and monitoring

Outside the main campus, the university operates an educational–research farm and several experimental plots where students and researchers work on irrigation, soil science, hydromelioration and digital agriculture. Here, water is taken only from two types of sources:

• existing agricultural irrigation canals, and
• a limited number of small-capacity wells.

Each intake point is equipped with calibrated flow meters, and pump operation is tied to experimental protocols, crop water requirements and agro-technical norms. Pump running hours and volumes are recorded, so that the total abstraction stays within the limits agreed with local water management organisations and does not result in over-exploitation of local water bodies or aquifers.

On these plots, low-pressure drip systems, modern sprinklers and other water-saving technologies are widely used. In several pilot fields, solar-powered pumps, soil-moisture sensors and automated irrigation controllers are being tested. This allows water to be applied strictly according to plant needs, reducing both unnecessary pumping and losses to seepage or evaporation. In practice, this means that the university’s research on irrigation efficiency is carried out under real-world but strictly controlled extraction conditions, rather than through uncontrolled withdrawals from rivers or deep aquifers.

Compliance, data use and educational value

All wells and experimental intakes are registered with the relevant authorities, and the university follows national technical and environmental requirements for water use and monitoring. Water quality and abstraction volumes are checked according to a schedule, with the results stored in internal databases. These data are used not only for reporting, but also as teaching material in bachelor’s and master’s programmes: students work with real meter readings, pumping logs and groundwater level observations when learning how to design sustainable abstraction schemes and pumping stations.

By building coursework, graduation projects and research around real campus and field data, TIIAME NRU trains future hydraulic engineers and water managers to regard extraction limits, metering and ecological constraints as normal parts of professional practice.

Cooperation with wastewater treatment for balanced use of resources

The university’s central campus discharges its wastewater to the Salar aeration station, one of the largest treatment plants in the region, operated by Tashkent City Water Supply LLC. Under this cooperation, wastewater originating from the campus is treated to meet environmental standards before discharge and beneficial use. While the treated water is not used for drinking, it can be used for activities such as pond filling, irrigation of agricultural land and supporting local hydrological balance.

This arrangement means that a significant share of the water initially drawn from municipal sources is returned to the basin in a controlled, treated form, supporting downstream users and ecosystems instead of becoming uncontrolled pollution. In this way, sustainable extraction is linked to responsible return flows and reuse.

Taken together, these measures show that TIIAME NRU does not treat water abstraction as an unlimited right. Potable water use from the central network is reduced wherever technically possible, non-potable needs are shifted to rainwater and regulated shallow groundwater sources, and all experimental abstraction is metered and limited. Cooperation with the Salar wastewater treatment plant further ensures that the university’s net impact on regional water resources remains within environmentally acceptable bounds, while at the same time providing rich practical material for training students in sustainable water management.

Selected 2024 evidence of outreach & engagement (public links):

These public activities show how the university links sustainable water extraction and conservation with education, outreach and international cooperation:

• “Suv tekin emas” (“Water is not free”) lessons for schoolchildren – on 31 January 2024, staff from the Department of Hydraulics and Hydroinformatics delivered interactive sessions in schools in Nurafshan, showing simple ways to reduce domestic water use and explaining why drinking water and groundwater must not be wasted.

Link: https://tiiame.uz/news?id=5470

• Public lecture on water scarcity and the need to limit over-extraction – a university-wide event on the theme “Suv tanqisligi muammolari haqida” (“On the problem of water scarcity”) discussed global and national trends in water deficit, the risks of uncontrolled groundwater abstraction and the importance of demand management.

Link: https://tiiame.uz/news?id=7534

• Field visit to water-management structures and pumping stations – during 2024, students participated in a practical visit titled “Suv xo‘jaligi inshootlari amaliy tashrif”, observing how modern pumping, canal lining and metering solutions reduce losses and make water diversion more sustainable.

Link: https://tiiame.uz/news?id=6689

• UNESCO Chair meeting with ICID and Dayu Irrigation Group on water-saving technologies – on 11 October 2024, the UNESCO Chair “Water Diplomacy, Water Resources Management and Environmental Protection” at TIIAME NRU hosted ICID Honorary Vice-President Dr Mohamed Wahba and a representative of Dayu Irrigation Group (China) to discuss water-saving irrigation technologies and capacity building for Central Asia.

Link: https://tiiame.uz/news?id=7024

• Cooperation with the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (SUA) – on 11–12 November 2024, a delegation led by Rector Klaudia Halászová visited TIIAME NRU to deepen cooperation, including joint projects on irrigation efficiency, climate-resilient agriculture and sustainable water management.

Link: https://tiiame.uz/news?id=7388

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