Four Central Asian governments have reached agreement in a bid to avert serious flooding from a huge reservoir which is threatening to break its banks.Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan struck the deal in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek to implement measures to prevent the Chardara reservoir from submerging nearby districts.Water levels in the reservoir, which lies in southern Kazakhstan but is also used by Uzbekistan, have been rising for several months. Hundreds of homes have been flooded and damage is estimated at more than two million dollars.Some 2,000 people have been evacuated from the area, as water levels in the reservoir and the Syr Darya river continued to rise. An area covering 600 square kilometres remains under water.Most of Central Asia\'s water originates in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and flows down to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.Following this week\'s talks, the Kyrgyz government has reiterated its commitment to reduce the flow of water towards Chardara and both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have agreed to draw more water to prevent an overflow. Kazakhstan is also considering other measures to prevent a repeat of this winter\'s difficulties. Deputy Prime Minister Akhmetzhan Yesimov told Kazakh Khabar TV that the answer may lie with the construction of a new reservoir which could be used to regulate water flow in the winter and spring. \"We cannot leave people living in the lower reaches of the Syr Darya under threat,\" he said, although he noted that neighbouring countries had lodged objections to the plan. (BBC)