Usage and quality of water for living were investigated in the basins of the Amu-Darya(riv.) and the Karakum canal. The residents of this area used groundwater or piped water for cooking, washing and drinking, and the water had permanent hardness. Karakum Canal reaches across southern Turkmenistan from the Amu-Darya. The piped water of the area showed 49-83 ms/m of electric conductivity and had neither NO^-_2 nor NH^+_4. The groundwater used in the lower reaches of the Amu-Darya showed over 1000 mg/L of total hardness and contained NO^-_3, NO^-_2, and NH^+_4. There is concern of serious health impairment led by possible groundwater pollution by chemical fertilizers and domestic sewage. People should be more aware of saving water since the leakage of water from faucets or feeding pipes was often found
