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Hydroecological degradation of the Kura River through water quality pressures and its implications for ecosystem services and local green economy development
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Azerbaijan's Kura River, a major source of drinking water and irrigation, gets increasingly salty and polluted as it flows downstream, with pollution levels rising more than eightfold in some stretches. A simple sand and charcoal filter made water look clearer, but researchers stress this does not mean the water is actually safe to drink. The findings highlight the need for better wastewater treatment and pollution monitoring to protect water supplies people depend on.
The Kura River is Azerbaijan’s principal surface-water artery and supports drinking-water supply, irrigated agriculture, energy production and aquatic ecosystems. This study integrates two educational research projects that approached hydroecological degradation from complementary scales: a literature-based assessment of Kura River water quality and flow pressures, and a local field-monitoring project in Padar village that examined visible pollution, environmental awareness and a low-cost filtration model. The synthesis was verified against recent peer-reviewed and institutional evidence and interpreted through ecosystem-services and green-economy perspectives. Recent monitoring for 2020–2022 shows a strong downstream mineralization gradient in the Kura, rising from about 349 mg/L at I Shikhli to more than 3,000 mg/L at Neftchala, while the local project documented plastic litter near the village, organic and fertilizer residues near pasture areas, and improved visual clarity after mechanical filtration through sand, gravel and activated carbon. The filter experiment demonstrates physical pre-treatment only and does not establish drinking-water safety. Economically, declining water quality can increase treatment and monitoring needs, constrain irrigation suitability, intensify salinity-related production risks and weaken fisheries, recreation and other ecosystem services. The combined evidence supports prevention-oriented water management, stronger wastewater control, community monitoring and resource-efficient local interventions as components of Azerbaijan’s green-economy and water-security agenda.
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