The Great Chüy Canal (, ; , often abbreviated БЧК) is one of an extensive complex of

irrigation canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...

s of the

Chüy Valley The Chüy Valley (; ; ) is a large valley located in northern Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan, in the northern part of the Tian Shan. It extends from Boom Gorge in the east to Muyunkum Desert in the west. It is long and has an area of about . ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

and to some extent

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, 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 Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...

, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, from east to west. It was built under the administration of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, with M. V. Patrushev as authoring engineer. Thirty-three thousand individuals took part in building the canal, mainly using

pickaxe A pickaxe, pick-axe, or pick is a generally T-shaped hand tool used for Leverage (mechanics), prying. Its head is typically metal, attached perpendicularly to a longer handle, traditionally made of wood, occasionally metal, and increasingly ...

s and

shovel A shovel is a tool used for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Most shovels are hand tools consisting of a broad blade fixed to a medium-length handle. Shovel blades are usually made ...

s (as opposed to heavy machinery), and it remains in

collective consciousness Collective consciousness, collective conscience, or collective conscious () is the set of shared beliefs, ideas, and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society.''Collins Dictionary of Sociology'', p93. In general, it doe ...

in Kyrgyzstan as a major building project of the 20th century. A record was set in on June 16, 1941, as

kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to eme ...

workers dug 90 cubic meters of dirt by hand.

Western Great Chüy Canal

The Western Great Chüy Canal is the longest irrigation canal in Kyrgyzstan. It begins from the river Chüy naer the village Gidrostroitel, about 8 km east of Ivanovka. It flows from east to west across the entire Chüy Valley, passing along the cities

Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, et ...

Shopokov Shopokov (; ) is a town in the Chüy Region of Kyrgyzstan. Its population was 10,289 in 2021. Shopokov is a city of district significance within Sokuluk District. According to a report by the local authorities (undated, but published some time ...

Belovodskoye Belovodskoye ( Kyrgyz and ) is a large village in the Chüy Region of Kyrgyzstan. Its population was 23,046 in 2021. It is the administrative seat of Moskva District, and is located on the European route E40 (M39) Bishkek to Chimkent highway. Po ...

and

Kara-Balta Kara-Balta (; Dungan, Russian and ; ) is a city and municipality on the Kara-Balta River, in Chüy Region, in northern Kyrgyzstan, the capital of Jayyl District. Its population was 48,278 in 2021. Kara-Balta is located on the northern slopes ...

before entering

, where it ends near

Merki Merki (, ''Merkı'') is an administrative center in the Merki region located in the Jambyl Region in the south of Kazakhstan. It is located near to the mountains that serve as a border between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It has an estimated popul ...

. 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.

Eastern Great Chüy Canal

The Eastern Great Chüy Canal was built in 1958. The canal flows along the

from east to west parallel to and south of the Western Great Chüy Canal. It starts from the upper river Chüy near the village of Chym-Korgon, about 40 km upriver of the headworks of the Western Great Chüy Canal. It flows south of

Tokmok Tokmok (; ) is a city in the Chüy Valley, northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek, with a population of 71,443 in 2021. Its elevation is 816 m above sea level. From 2003 to 2006, it was the administrative seat of Chüy R ...

and Ivanovka, and discharges into the Ala-Archa in Bishkek. The headgates are rated for a water

throughput Network throughput (or just throughput, when in context) refers to the rate of message delivery over a communication channel in a communication network, such as Ethernet or packet radio. The data that these messages contain may be delivered ov ...

of 350 cubic meters per second. Its entire length is 100 km, and irrigates an area of 41.5 thousand

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

Southern Great Chüy Canal

Construction on the Southern Great Chüy Canal began in 1976. It begins from the river

Ysyk-Ata The Ysyk-Ata () is a river in Ysyk-Ata District of Chüy Region of Kyrgyzstan. The river rises on the north slopes of Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range , Kyrgyz Ala-Too and flows in north-north-east and north-east directions until confluence with its right tr ...

(at the village of Yuryevka) and runs along the southern edge of Bishkek, intersecting the river

Alamüdün Alamüdün (, also ''Alamedin'' and ''Alamudun'') is a town and northern suburb of Bishkek in Chüy Region of Kyrgyzstan, part of Alamüdün District (raion). Its population was 12,198 in 2021. It lies along the M39 highway which leads to Kord ...

, and ending in the Ala-Archa in

Orto-Say Orto-Say () is a village in northern Kyrgyzstan. Its population was 4111 in 2009. The village is administratively subordinated to the Lenin District within the city of Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze ...

, south of Bishkek. 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

Canals in Kyrgyzstan {{Chuy-geo-stub