-by Anastasia Bengard, originally posted on May 17, 2016

The quality of drinking water in some regions of Kyrgyzstan does not meet standards. This is stated in the Ombudsman’s report on the observance of the rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen in 2015.

Ombudsman’s Institute has analyzed the citizens’ right to access safe drinking water. It reported that only 50 million out of 358 million, planned for the construction and rehabilitation of water supply, have been allocated in 2015.

“As before, there are still many unresolved problems in providing the population with the safe drinking water. The water supply system of the country in general is technically and morally obsolete, most of the water pipes were made before 1970 and are in dire need of rehabilitation. The water supply system in some settlements has worked two or three its lifetimes. Therefore, drinking water quality does not meet standards. In villages, only 3 percent of the buildings have drainage systems. These are schools and health centers,” the report says.

According to the National Statistical Committee, 725 villages (38 percent of the total number) do not have sufficient access to the centralized water supply system, and more than 400 villages (22 percent) lack the water supply network, that is why people in them use water from open sources. At least 396 (21 percent) villages have no water supply systems at all.

It is also reported that only 21 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s population is provided with a central sewage system.