Names of some water bodies updated in Uzbekistan

The government has approved the list of rivers, streams, lakes, springs, waterfalls, reservoirs, and flood control reservoirs whose names are now standardized in accordance with the state language. This was announced in the government’s 10 November 2025 decree titled “On aligning the names of certain geographic objects in the water management sector with state language rules and assigning new names.”

The names of 130 rivers, streams, lakes, springs, waterfalls, reservoirs, and flood control reservoirs in Uzbekistan have been standardized in accordance with the rules and norms of the state language. For example, Akshakul has become Oqchakul, Sarikamish – Sariqamish, and Kovukkul – Ghovukul. In addition, some water bodies have received entirely new names, including the Sassiqsoy flood control reservoir in Uychi district of Namangan region, now called Shorsuv; the Gaiston flood control reservoir in Yangikurgan, now Yangikurgan; and the Jinnidaryo river in Kitob district of Kashkadarya region, now named Zogatasoy.

The Ministry of Water Resources will, within two months, work together with the Cadastre Agency under the Ministry of Economy and Finance to update all relevant documents, maps, and databases to reflect the changes and new names.

At the same time, signboards and informational displays at rivers, streams, lakes, springs, waterfalls, reservoirs, and flood control reservoirs will be updated to reflect the state language norms using the Uzbek Latin alphabet.

It is worth noting that earlier, on 17 October 2025, the government announced a similar initiative to standardize the names of railway stations, stops, and depots under Uzbekistan Railways, aligning them with state language rules and norms.