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Links Between Water Allocation and Other Water Plans
Water allocation can be applied at national, regional, basin 
and sub-basin levels. These allocation plans need to be linked to 
plans for water using developments such as irrigation and town 
water supply, and to plans for flood control, hydropower and 
water resource protection. Water allocation planning involves 
consideration of the total water resources available within a 
basin. This can include surface and groundwater supplies, as 
well as water from inter-basin transfers. The amount of water 
available for allocation will be a function of this total volume, 
less:
— water that cannot, in practice, be used (for example, 
water that cannot be stored or used and passes during 
uncontrolled flooding)
— water which needs to be retained in the river system to 
meet ecological needs (i. e., environmental flows).
Water allocation is best determined in the context of a long-
term plan, with a minimum term of five years but there may 
be up to 15 years between review and revision. Such a plan 
provides the needed stability for investment decisions by the 
basin community, in agriculture, industry and mining, and 
town and city development. It also provides the basis for water-
related natural resource management in forestry, watershed 
management, and river ecosystem management.
But should a long-term water allocation plan not yet be 
developed; seasonal water allocations should be made and 
should not be deferred while the plan is being developed.
In the case of the Panj Amu River basin, long-term planning 
is yet to be completed and an urgent need exists to manage 
water shares between water users in the basin. This need arises 
from requirements for equity between water using sectors and 
equity among irrigators upstream and downstream, and at 
head and tail of canal systems. For this reason, as this paper 
is prepared specifically for the Panj Amu River basin, the 
discussion of water allocation for seasonal water sharing has 
been placed before that concerning water allocation in river 
basin planning.