Southern Kazakhstan, particularly the Zhambyl Region, is facing increasing groundwater stress due to climate change, degradation of irrigation infrastructure, and unsustainable water use. Despite substantial renewable groundwater reserves (8.33 km³/year), irrigation still relies on ephemeral surface flow. This study delineates priority zones for Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) using a GIS-based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis framework integrated with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Nine hydrogeological criteria were incorporated: shallow aquifer depth, groundwater salinity, precipitation, terrain slope, soil texture, land use/land cover, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), drainage density, and lineament density. Each parameter was normalized to a five-class suitability scale and weighted through expert-informed pairwise comparisons. The MAR suitability map identifies about 19% of the region (27,060 km²) as highly favorable for implementation. Field investigations at eleven groundwater sites in 2024 corroborate model results, providing aquifer depth, quality, and infiltration data. The most suitable areas are concentrated on Quaternary alluvial–proluvial fans near the Kyrgyz Alatau foothills and the Talas-Assa interfluve. Three hydrostratigraphic settings were identified: unconfined alluvial aquifers, Neogene–Quaternary unconsolidated sediments, and fractured Carboniferous carbonates. Recommended MAR methods include infiltration galleries, check dams, and injection wells. The proposed approach, validated through consistency analysis (Consistency Ratio ≤ 0.1), demonstrates the applicability of integrated geospatial and field methods for site-specific MAR planning. Strategic MAR deployment could restore productivity to 37,500 ha of degraded irrigated lands and improve groundwater resilience. These findings provide a practical framework for policymakers and water management authorities to optimize groundwater use and enhance agricultural sustainability under changing climatic conditions.

Western Kazakhstan is susceptible to desertification, with surface water resource scarcity constraining agricultural development. Groundwater has substantial potential as a reliable and secure alternative to other water resources, particularly for irrigation, which is required to ensure food security. Eight aquifer segments with an exploitable potential of 0.24 km³/year have been identified for the integrated assessment of groundwater’s suitability for irrigation. The assessment criteria included hydro-chemical groundwater characteristics and irrigated land soil-reclamation conditions. The primary objectives of this study were to assess the groundwater quality for irrigation and to develop a practical operation scheme for rational groundwater use in water-saving irrigation technologies and optimize agricultural crop cultivation. Approximately 90% of the groundwater in these aquifer segments was found to be suitable for irrigation, with a total amount of 6520 thousand m³/day and a salinity of up to 1 g/L, and an additional 12,971 thousand m³/day had a water salinity of up to 3 g/L. Only approximately 10% had TDS values above 3 g/L and up to 6.5 g/L, categorized as conditionally suitable for restricted customized agricultural crop irrigation. Irrigated land development by complex soil desalination agro-reclamation operations enabled the use of brackish water for irrigation. The integrated analysis allowed the development of drip irrigation and sprinkling system irrigation schemes that gradually replaced wasteful surface irrigation. The irrigated land prospective area recommended for groundwater irrigation development is 653 km², with the further restructuring of cultivated areas, reducing the number of annual grasses and grain crops and increasing the number of vegetables, potatoes, and perennial grasses.

Groundwater is a strategically important source of drinking water supply in the arid and rural regions of Kazakhstan. The objective of this study is to assess the quality of groundwater at 11 water intakes located in the Kordai, Shu, and Merke Districts of the Shu transboundary basin in the Zhambyl Region. A comprehensive assessment of physicochemical parameters was performed, including concentrations of nitrates, sulfates, chlorides, iron, manganese, and other constituents, with subsequent comparison against regulatory limits defined by Order No. 26 of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan (dated 20 February 2023), GOST standards, and ST RK ISO standards. The findings revealed that a number of water intakes exceeded the maximum allowable concentrations for specific indicators, especially in areas subject to significant anthropogenic pressure. The most vulnerable sources were identified near settlements characterized by intensive agricultural practices and inadequate wastewater treatment systems. Spatial comparison of the results enabled the identification of potentially contaminated areas as well as aquifer zones suitable for drinking water supply. The study emphasizes the importance of regular groundwater monitoring and spatial analysis techniques (GIS) to enhance the reliability and comprehensiveness of water quality assessments. The data obtained in this study can serve as a basis for informed decision-making in the area of water resource protection and contribute to the achievement of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6)—to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

Ensuring water resources for livestock production in Kazakhstan presents a multifaceted challenge. Pastoral systems in Southern Kazakhstan are facing a critical groundwater shortage, with 56.5% of pastures currently unused due to limited water access, jeopardizing around 2 million head of livestock and the region’s food security. This study presents the first comprehensive groundwater assessment in over 40 years, integrating hydrochemical analysis (55 samples) and field surveys conducted in the Almaty and Zhetysu regions. Key findings include: the total water demand for livestock is estimated at 53,735 thousand m³/year, with approximately 40% of samples exceeding WHO guidelines for total mineralization. It was determined that 45% of exploitable groundwater reserves in the Almaty region and 15–17% in the Zhetysu region are suitable for irrigation. This study also provides updated hydrogeological data, identifying three priority aquifer systems. A novel Groundwater Sustainability Index for pastoral zones of Central Asia is introduced, demonstrating that strategic aquifer development could expand watered pastureland by 30–40%. These findings directly inform Kazakhstan’s Agricultural Development Plan through 2030 and provide a replicable framework for sustainable water management in arid regions. With 69,836 rural residents currently lacking access to safe water, our results underscore the urgent need for infrastructure investment to meet SDG 6 targets (ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all).

Sustainable potable groundwater supply is crucial for human development and the preservation of natural habitats. The largest endorheic inland lake in Kazakhstan, Balkhash Lake, is the main water resource for the arid southeastern part of the country. Several ore enrichment plants that are located along its shore have heavy metal pollution potential. The study area is located around a plant that has an evident anthropogenic impact on the Balkhash Lake aquatic ecological system, with ten known heavy metal toxic hotspots endangering fragile habitats, including some indigenous human communities. This study assessed the risk of heavy metal contamination from tailing dump operations, storage ponds, and related facilities and suggested management practices for preventing this risk. The coastal zone risk assessment analysis used an innovative integrated groundwater numerical flow and transport model that predicted the spread of groundwater contamination from tailing dump operations under several mitigation strategies. Heavy metal pollution prevention models included a no-action scenario, a filtration barrier construction scenario, and two scenarios involving the drilling of drainage wells between the pollution sources and the lake. The scenario assessment indicates that drilling ten drainage wells down to the bedrock between the existing drainage channel and the lake is the optimal engineering solution for confining pollution. Under these conditions, pollution from tailings will not reach Lake Balkhash during the forecast period. The methods and tools used in this study to enable mining activity without environmental implications for the region can be applied to sites with similar anthropogenic influences worldwide.

Arid regions in Central Asia face persistent and increasing water scarcity, with groundwater serving as the primary source for drinking water, irrigation, and industry. The effective exploration and management of groundwater resources are critical, but are constrained by limited monitoring infrastructure and complex hydrogeological settings. This study investigates the Akbakay aquifer, a representative area within Central Asia with challenging hydrogeological conditions, to delineate potential zones for fresh groundwater exploration. A multi-criteria decision analysis was conducted by integrating the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), supported by remote sensing datasets. To address the subjectivity of weight assignment, the AHP results were further validated using Monte Carlo simulations and fuzzy logic aggregation (Fuzzy Gamma). The integrated approach revealed stable high-suitability groundwater zones that consistently stand out across deterministic, probabilistic, and fuzzy assessments, thereby improving the reliability of the groundwater potential mapping. The findings demonstrate the applicability of combined AHP–GIS methods enhanced with uncertainty analysis for sustainable groundwater resource management in data-scarce arid regions of Central Asia.