Ili River
In 1970, the 364-megawatt Kapshagay Hydroelectric Power Plant was built on the Ili River, drawing water out of the new Kapshagay Reservoir for irrigation. Ili's water is also extensively used upstream, in the Xinjiang province of China, for the cultivation of cotton. Currently, there is a project for an additional counter-regulatory dam 23 km downstream from the Kapchagay. The associated 49.5-MW Kerbulak Hydroelectric Power Plant will partially solve the problem of providing electricity to the southern areas of Kazakhstan and will serve as a buffer for daily and weekly fluctuations in the water level of Ili River.