Abstract

One of the constituent of the environmental safety concept in Kazakhstan is a problem of water resources depletion which is due to physiographic features such as intracontinental location, continental climate, character of relief and uneven distribution of water bodies. There are three large basins within the territory of Kazakhstan: the Caspian and Aral seas, and Lake Balkhash. The purpose of the study was assessing the quality of waste water in Almaty city (Kazakhstan) which flows to Sorbulak – the largest in the world lake-collector, from where it flows to Ili-Balkhash basin. In 2012 the southern shore of Lake Balkhash and bank of the Ili River were enrolled in the list of wetlands of global importance. A comprehensive assessment of the waste water quality in Almaty city (Kazakhstan) during the process of its complex purification: mechanical, physical-chemical and biological was made. Organoleptic, hydrochemical, microbiological and cytotoxicological methods were applied during the study. It was determined that the water inflowing to Sorbulak can be described as mild polluted at nitrogen dioxide, phosphates, lead and phenols level.