Abstract
The article analyzes the problems of local self-government and organization of the irrigation system among the Syr-Darya Kazakhs in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. After the establishment of the domination of the Russian Empire in this region, various laws and regulations were adopted to reform the irrigation system. Despite the centralization of the management system, the methods and technologies of irrigation, which were developed by the local population for many centuries, have not changed. In the second half of the 20th century, the traditional irrigation system in agriculture was revived with autonomy, which was headed by aryk-aksakals and mirab, who supervised the work on digging, cleaning irrigation canals, and distributing water. The paper uses the works and archival data of Russian researchers,travelers, and officials before the October Revolution. By the method of synchronous analysis, a comparison is made between sedentary regions and developed agriculture in the system of management and organization of irrigation.