H1 2026 Evaluation
Turkmenistan Reservoir Transparency
F2Opaque — Ranked #137 out of 167 countries
weight 30%
weight 20%
weight 15%
weight 13%
weight 10%
weight 8%
weight 5%
Primary source evaluated
State Committee of Water Management of Turkmenistan (Garagumsuwhojalyk Association)
https://www.cawater-info.net/bk/1-1-1-1-3-tm_e.htmDimension breakdown
Data Availability
20% of total score
Turkmenistan manages large irrigation infrastructure including the Karakum Canal (1,375 km, diverts ~13 km³/year from the Amu Darya) and the Turkmen Lake (Altyn Asyr, ~2,000 km² planned surface area, an artificial desert lake for agricultural drainage). No reservoir storage data is published through any publicly accessible national platform. The State Committee of Water Management operates internal monitoring but releases no data publicly. Regional compilations by CAWater-Info provide partial historical reference data only.
Technical Accessibility
15% of total score
No public API, open data portal, or downloadable dataset for reservoir or canal storage data exists. The Garagumsuwhojalyk Association (canal management) operates a central control room with 70 ultrasonic water level sensors installed along the Karakum Canal as of 2023-2025, per internal government reports — but this monitoring data is not publicly released.
Coverage
30% of total score
Internally, monitoring appears to cover the Karakum Canal and some irrigation reservoirs based on the sensor installation programme described in 2025 government communications. Publicly, coverage is effectively zero — no monitoring outputs are accessible for any water infrastructure in the country.
Historical Depth
13% of total score
CAWater-Info and FAO archives contain historical reference data on Turkmenistan's water withdrawals and some reservoir statistics dating to the Soviet era, but these are not maintained by Turkmenistan and represent researcher compilations rather than official national data. No continuous national historical series is publicly accessible.
Update Frequency
10% of total score
No publicly available data update of any frequency has been identified for reservoir or canal water levels. Government communications reference real-time sensor data for internal management use, but public release does not occur.
Methodological Transparency
8% of total score
The 2023 amendments to the Water Code of Turkmenistan require installation of water measurement facilities on watercourses. This legal framework implies standardised measurement will occur, but no public methodology documentation has been published. Internal sensor specifications (70 ultrasonic sensors on the Karakum Canal) are the only technical detail available from state media.
Language and Usability
5% of total score
Official language is Turkmen, one of the least internationally accessible Central Asian languages. Government communications are in Turkmen with some Russian. The CAWater-Info platform (regional, not national) provides English summaries. No English-language national reservoir data interface exists.
Evaluator notes
Turkmenistan is among the world's most closed states and scores near-zero on the RTI despite operating genuinely large water infrastructure. The Karakum Canal, one of the largest irrigation canals globally, diverts approximately 13 cubic kilometres per year from the Amu Darya. The Altyn Asyr (Turkmen Lake) — a colossal artificial lake in the Karakum Desert designed to receive agricultural drainage — represents one of the most unusual water management projects in the world. Neither is subject to any form of public data transparency. The 2025 state media report on 70 ultrasonic sensors installed along the Karakum Canal confirms that internal real-time monitoring now exists, but this infrastructure serves operational management and state control, not public transparency. Turkmenistan consistently ranks at the bottom of global press freedom and government transparency indices. Its water consumption from the Amu Darya is a major driver of the Aral Sea catastrophe, yet no publicly verifiable consumption or storage data is released. Regional water data must be obtained through UNECE assessments and CAWater-Info research compilations.
Evaluated by Jaime Delgado · 2026-09-15 · Methodology v1.3.0