HISTORY

The Georgian Water Management Institute is one of the oldest scientific research organizations in the field of water management and land reclamation, not only in Georgia but in the entire South Caucasus region.

It was established on July 13, 1925, as the Transcaucasian Scientific Research Institute of Water Management.

Since 1947, the institute has been known as the “Scientific Research Institute of Hydrotechnics and Reclamation of Georgia.” Based on this institute, similar organizations were later established as institutes in Azerbaijan and Armenia from the institute’s branches.

Until 1992, the institute was under the Ministry of Reclamation and Water Management of the Soviet Union.

In 1992, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the institute was transferred to the Georgian Academy of Sciences by the decree of the Council of Ministers of Georgia, and it was renamed the “Institute of Water Management and Engineering Ecology of the Georgian Academy of Sciences.” Later, by the decree #58 of the Government of Georgia on March 16, 2006, it was established as a legal entity of public law and renamed the “Georgian Water Management Institute.” Due to ongoing reorganization, by the decree #210 of the Government of Georgia on July 27, 2010, the institute was integrated into the Georgian Technical University and renamed the “LEPL Georgian Technical University Water Management Institute.”

Over time, notable individuals have worked at the institute or completed their full postgraduate studies, including: Alla Magomedova (later Vice-Rector of Dagestan Technical University), Tamaz Zhordania (later Deputy Minister of Construction of Georgia), Levan Kiknadze (later a Referent of the Council of Ministers of Georgia), Guram Varshalomidze (later Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Adjara), Mikhail Kuznetsov (later Head of the Department of Erosion at Moscow State University named after M. Lomonosov and a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Evsei Dolidze (later Head of the Construction Trust of the Ministry of Construction of Georgia), Zurab Eristavi (later Head of the “Saqtskalmseni” Trust), Sergo Gotsiridze (later Head of the Construction Trust), Roland Jgerenaia (later Director of the Abkhazian Hydromelioration Station), and others.

In addition to publications, the institute has participated in the implementation of significant shore protection projects, such as:

The diversion of part of the flow of northern Siberian rivers to Central Asia,
Water management facilities in Algeria, Syria, Cuba, Kazakhstan, and Greece,
Shore reinforcement works for 100 km along the Caspian Sea (1995-1998), and in Russia (1981-1982).

In the 1920s, design parameters for the reservoir and earth dam of the Mingachevir complex were determined directly in the institute’s laboratories. The institute also designed and implemented the reclamation of the swampy territories of Colchis, the Tiriﬁoni canal and its associated objects, and the Upper and Lower Samgori irrigation systems. The institute played a direct role in the implementation of the Upper Alazani main canal project, introducing numerous innovations during the project’s execution, including the construction of embankments on the canal route using soil deposition technology. The practice developed from 1965 to 1987 has been applied in the construction of 23 reclamation dams in Georgia, including Algeti, Zonkari, Dali Mountain, and others. In addition to soil deposition technology for dam construction, the institute developed a project for the tailings dam of Chiatura Manganese and construction through controlled blasting for the Kvaisa zinc tailings dam. The institute has conducted many project evaluations for soil dam deformations (e.g., 5 in Algeria) and new dam constructions (2 in Syria, 2 in Azerbaijan). Riverbed and shore protection structures on the Kodori River, shore protection structures for the Alazani River (Telavi district), rehabilitation construction work for the hydraulic complex on the Rioni River near Poti, and 75 environmental protection structures along the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline corridor are just a few of the institute’s projects.

Throughout its existence, the institute has conducted and continues to engage in multifaceted scientific collaborations and joint research with scientific, design, and construction organizations, as well as universities from the United States, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, China, Israel, Austria, the Netherlands, Turkey, Germany, Greece, Japan, Romania, Bulgaria, and many other countries.