Great Chüy Canal

The Great Chüy Canal (Kyrgyz: Чоң Чүй каналы, [ʧɔɴ ʧyj kʰɑnɑɫɯ], Russian: Большой Чуйский канал, often abbreviated БЧК) is one of an extensive complex of irrigation canals of the Chuy Valley in Kyrgyzstan and to some extent Kazakhstan, composed of three branches: the Western Great Chüy Canal, the Eastern Great Chüy Canal, and the Southern Great Chüy Canal. The Great Chüy Canal flows through the northern part of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, from east to west. It was built under the administration of the Soviet Union, with M. V. Patrushev as authoring engineer. The canal reaches the Ala-Archa River.

Great Chüy Canal
The canal as it runs through Bishkek
Specifications
Statusopen
History
Original ownerThe Soviet Union
Principal engineerM. V. Patrushev
Construction began1941-06[1]:p.374
Date of first use1958

Thirty-three thousand individuals took part in building the canal,[1]:p.374 mainly using pickaxes and shovels (as opposed to heavy machinery), and it remains in collective consciousness in Kyrgyzstan as a major building project of the 20th century.".[2] A record was set in on June 16, 1941, as kolkhoz workers dug 90 cubic meters of dirt by hand.[1]:p.374

Eastern Great Chüy Canal

The Eastern Great Chüy Canal was built in 1958. The canal flows along the Chüy Valley from east to west parallel to the Western Great Chüy Canal from the upper Chüy River northwest of the village of Chym-Korgon. The headgates are rated for a water throughput of 350 cubic meters per second. Its entire length is 100 km, and irrigates an area of 41.5 thousand hectares.

Western Great Chüy Canal

The Western Great Chüy Canal is the longest irrigation canal in Kyrgyzstan. It begins from the Chüy River about 40 km downriver of the headworks of the Eastern Great Chüy River, about 8 km east of Ivanovka. It flows from east to west across the entire Chüy Valley, and it enters Kazakhstan. The entire length of the canal is 145 km, and it irrigates an area of 82 thousand hectares. The regular rate of water flow at the head of the canal is 43 cubic meters per second, and it can support an excess capacity of 55 meters per second. Construction of the canal began in 1940.

Southern Great Chüy Canal

Construction on the Southern Great Chüy Canal began in 1976. It begins from the Ysyk-Ata River (at the village of Yuryevka) and runs along the southern edge of Bishkek, intersecting the Alamedin River, and then runs through forested tracts before reaching its end in Merke District in Kazakhstan. Its entire length stretches 158 km, and it is designed to irrigate 3000 hectares of land. Waterflow at the headgates is 90 cubic meters per second. Construction on the canal continues around Valeriy Kritsanov Village.

References
  1. Карыпкулов, А., ed. (1994). Чүй облусу энциклопедиясы. Кыргыз Республикасынын Улуттук Илимдер Академиясы. ISBN 5-89750-083-5.
  2. Sputnik Кыргызстан (2017-11-07). "Как строился Большой Чуйский Канал". Sputnik Кыргызстан. Sputnik Кыргызстан.


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