Current State of Water Resources and Problems of Their Use in Border Regions of Russia (The Ob-Irtysh Basin as a Case Study)

The water resources of Ob and Irtysh and water availability in the context of natural areas, landscape provinces, and river basins are considered. The information on extreme hydrological phenomena on water bodies of the Ob-Irtysh Basin has been analyzed and structured. Using the results of statistical analysis of data series of average annual discharges for major rivers in the south of West Siberia, the linear trends were calculated. The change in annual discharges for the last decades was estimated. The discharge forecast for the following 10–20 years was given, and the zones of its increase/decrease in the area under study were identified. The volume of abstraction and use of water intake and use and the share of withdrawal in landscape provinces and river basins of the region are estimated.