Almaty's city administration has declined to disclose how much money was allocated to watering the city's green spaces in 2026. Last summer, social media was flooded with reports that shrubs and trees were drying out for lack of moisture. The publication Kursiv LifeStyle investigated what changes had been made to the watering system, but some of its journalistic inquiry went unanswered by the administration, infohub.kz reports.
The Department of Municipal Infrastructure and Housing Inspection explained that since April 1, 2026, streets and the vegetation growing along them have been maintained under a "one district — one contractor" model. Under this system, all 739 of the city's main streets were handed over to the state-owned enterprise Almaty Tazalyq, while more than two thousand intra-block and district streets went to private contractors. District administrations and the department itself oversee their work.
The administration claims that trees, grass and shrubs dried out only between July 16 and 20, when air temperatures rose to +42 °C.
"During that period, signs of yellowing of the lawn cover were noted in certain small areas, caused by the high temperature load. In this connection, watering and care of green spaces in the city were stepped up. At present the condition of those areas has been restored, and the lawn cover again has a proper appearance," the official response says.
In their inquiry, journalists also asked how much money had been allocated for watering in Almaty in 2026. That question was ignored.