Unlike in many other countries the gross quantity of available water appears to be ample1 and water-saving is not an overriding priority for most users and use sectors, though shortages recur in some Eastern regions of the country. There is also a sizeable non-consumptive abstraction of water for hydropower at a number of plants on the Kura River and its tributaries, and for cooling in the thermal power station at Gardabani. Although largely non-consumptive, these operations in the power sector do have an impact on river flow, hydro morphology and the transport of sediments, which affect w'ater use elsewhere. Irrigation demand has also fallen due to the collapse of some large-scale operations; the total area of irrigated land fell from 370 000 ha in 1990 to 167 000 in 2003, and has fallen further since then.