Water Consumption and Disposal in the Russian Part of the Transboundary Ural River: Trends and the Effect on Water Quality

The study shows variations in the volumes of water consumption and disposal, as well as the mass of pollutant discharges in the Russian part of the Ural River basin under changing socioeconomic and technological conditions and gives estimates of water quality transformations in the river. It was found that since 1990 to 2022, water withdrawal for meeting the needs of the population and economy in the Russian part of the Ural River basin decreased by 3.9 times. The water turnover factor in the basin increased from 70.3 to 91.6%. The mass of most pollutants in the discharged wastewater has decreased by 3–20 times, though five pollutants show an appreciable increase in their discharge volumes. In the upper reaches of the Ural River, the water quality estimated by the specific value of combinatory water pollution index has practically not changed in 2008–2020, while in its middle reaches, an increase in water quality was recorded.