Sustainable Water Use in Industry—Reasons, Challenges, Response of Kazakhstan

Industrial development poses significant challenges to water resource management, both in terms of quality and quantity. In response to these challenges, the concept of sustainable water use has been proposed as a means of addressing these issues. However, this concept is not yet widely adopted in developing countries, particularly in Kazakhstan. This paper examines the extent to which water use is sustainable on the example of the oil refinery sector in Kazakhstan. The investigation revealed a two-fold problem: the discharge of contaminated wastewater into the environment, which poses a risk of contamination transport, and the irrational use of water within the refinery. These issues are rooted in low water fees, low penalties for pollution and the gaps in legislation that allow for high maximum allowable concentrations of pollutants in discharges. As a result, toxic contaminants, such as petroleum hydrocarbons, are present in high concentrations exceeding permissible limits in groundwater up to 6 km away from the point of wastewater discharge. Based on the findings of the environmental impact assessments carried out in the sector, the authors propose a response that involves revising and implementing suitable legislative standards with requirements for transparent practices for environmental impact assessment and new efficient environmental monitoring programs to prevent water pollution. These measures have been adopted in the new Ecological Code and require proper control to ensure their effective implementation. However, the perspective of implementing efficient water-saving techniques and water integration is not yet widely visible and needs to be considered in order to achieve the sustainable water use in the industry. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.