The Great Chüy Canal ( ky, Чоң Чүй каналы, [], russian: Большой Чуйский канал, often abbreviated БЧК) is one of an extensive complex of irrigation canals of the Chüy Valley in Kyrgyzstan and to some extent [ azakhstan, 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 ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...

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

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, 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 prying. Its head is typically metal, attached perpendicularly to a longer handle, traditionally made of wood, occasionally metal, and increasingly fiberglass. A stand ...

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 o ...

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

collective consciousness Collective consciousness, collective conscience, or collective conscious (french: conscience collective) is the set of shared beliefs, ideas, and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society.''Collins Dictionary of Sociolog ...

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., a contraction of советское хозяйство, soviet ownership or ...

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 (, , ; 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, ethics, and aest ...

Shopokov Shopokov ( ky, Шопоков; russian: Шопоков, 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 lo ...

Belovodskoye Belovodskoye (Kyrgyz and russian: Беловодское) 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) ...

and

Kara-Balta Kara-Balta (lit. 'black ax', Russian and ky, Кара-Балта) is a city and municipality on the Kara-Balta River, in Chüy Region, Kyrgyzstan, the capital of Jayyl District. It was founded in 1825 under the Kokand Khanate, and received ci ...

before entering azakhstan,_where_it_ends_near_Merki.html" ;"title="azakhstan, where it ends near Merki">azakhstan, where it ends near Merki. 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 Chüy Valley 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 ( ky, Токмок, lit=hammer; russian: Токмак, Tokmak) 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. Fro ...

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, such as Ethernet or packet radio, in a communication network. The data that these messages contain may be delivered ove ...

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), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre i ...

Southern Great Chüy Canal

Construction on the Southern Great Chüy Canal began in 1976. It begins from the river Ysyk-Ata (at the village of Yuryevka) and runs along the southern edge of Bishkek, intersecting the river Alamüdün, and ending in the Ala-Archa in Orto-Say, 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