Governmental Decree No. 421 validating the Regulation on management of groundwater not classified as potable water of medicinal water.

Groundwater (fresh, mineral, thermal), not classified as potable or medicinal water, should be used in the prescribed manner for technical water supply, extraction of chemical elements contained therein, generation of heat energy and other industrial needs in compliance with the requirements of rational use and protection of water. The feasibility of the preferential use of groundwater in comparison with the possible use of surface water for technical purposes is determined by technological and economic calculations performed by specialized organizations based on preliminary exploratory hydrogeological work. The use of groundwater of potable quality for technical purposes, as a rule, is not allowed and can be carried out in exceptional cases with the authorization of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Tajikistan, Chief Geological Directorate under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Committee on State Supervision of Safe Conducting Works in Industry and Mining under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, in the prescribed manner. The quality of groundwater intended for technical purposes must comply with state and industrial standards, technical conditions, or the requirements of specific water-consuming organizations. Thermal groundwater, according to existing classification includes water with a temperature of more than 20 ° C. Industrial groundwater includes waters that contain in solution valuable chemical components or their compounds in quantities that ensure, within technical and economic indicators, their cost-effective production and processing within specific hydrogeological areas. A draft condition is being developed for industrial and thermal waters, which must be approved by the State Mineral Reserves Commission under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan (GKZ) or the Departmental Mineral Resources Commission (VCC), according to the size of the minimum scale of explored deposits on the basis of which report is drafted and stocks estimates are approved. For the purposes of technical water supply, both fresh and brackish water can be used.