This study is designed to analyze the legal mechanisms for protecting water resources in the basin management system of the Republic of Kazakhstan based on the transformation of the current process from an administrative-control model to an environmentally oriented model. Based on scientific research methods, the provisions of the Water Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2025, issues of state regulation and monitoring, relevant international approaches to integrated water resources management, and empirical data were analyzed. The results of the analysis include the identification of the impossibility of assessing the effectiveness of basin management solely by monitoring results. The article identifies the difference between the control-administrative and environmentally oriented models based on a two-level assessment system. The main result of the study is the conclusion that the environmental and water management indicators of basin planning are not sufficiently established for their future legal use. In addition, the weak legal connection between the results of monitoring, basin planning, environmental risks, and state impact assessment is summarized. The study proposes the creation of a uniform legal mechanism for monitoring data to be used in basin planning and environmental risk assessment, with the results of this assessment determining state response measures, and the results achieved as a basis for adjusting future management decisions.