This chapter contains the results of research conducted on the Chu Valley in Kyrgyzstan. The territory is a typical intermountain valley, including the following hydrogeological zones: recharge, discharge, transit and regional discharge of groundwater. The placement of additional irrigation groundwater intakes should be made taking into account the possible melioration effect, the essence of which is a decrease of groundwater levels below a critical depth. This will reduce groundwater evaporation and prevent soil salinization processes. The largest areas of flooded territory are located in the discharge zone. However, the location of water intakes in this zone without scientific justification does not always provide the proper melioration effect. The chapter presents the analytical criteria obtained by the authors for the rational location of groundwater intakes. The specified criteria are compared with the results of groundwater modeling obtained using the MODFLOW software package. The comparison showed the possibility of using the proposed relatively simple analytical criteria for optimization of the location of groundwater intakes in the typical intermountain valleys.