For pure water: Expert explains environmental challenges of Lake Sevan

No matter how high the level of Lake Sevan rises it won’t signify any progress unless its water is clean, believes a specialist who has dealt with problems of Armenia’s largest body of fresh water for 25 years now.

Since November last year the level of Lake Sevan has risen by 45 centimeters, however considering evaporation and other circumstances, the overall rise in 2009 is expected to make 31 centimeters.

No matter how high the level of Lake Sevan rises it won’t signify any progress unless its water is clean, believes a specialist who has dealt with problems of Armenia’s largest body of fresh water for 25 years now.

Since November last year the level of Lake Sevan has risen by 45 centimeters, however considering evaporation and other circumstances, the overall rise in 2009 is expected to make 31 centimeters.

Head of the president-affiliated commission on Lake Sevan problems Vladimir Movsisyan on Tuesday presented to the media data on the rise of Lake Sevan during the past year and problems with the preservation of the lake’s cleanness. He emphasized that without the combination of these two factors, as well as the restoration of the lake’s biodiversity, it will be impossible to revitalize Lake Sevan.

“Our paramount task is the preservation of the Sevan’s eco-system, its reproduction, normal development and solution to consumption problems. But these problems should be solved in complex,” said Movsisyan.

Environmentalists have repeatedly raised concerns over the destructive threat of the overuse of the potential and resources of the lake still since Soviet times. Thus, more than 40 percent of the lake’s water resources have been used to generate electricity and for irrigation purposes since 1933.

The problem is being dealt with at the level of the republic’s president, who last week personally chaired a meeting of the commission on the lake’s problems.

The commission pursues activities in two directions – presenting proposals on problems of the Sevan and also conducting practical measures with appropriate ministries for the resolution of the lake’s problems.

“The most important factor for the rise of the water level is the factor of the Arpa-Sevan tunnel. A total of 522 linear meters of the ground part of the tunnel has been restored this year. The efforts cost about 605 million drams ($1.6 million). As a result, this year we have transferred 171 million cubic meters of water from Kechut to the Sevan, as compared to 168 million cubic meters last year,” said Movsisyan.

In the past year the rise in the level of water was also promoted by weather. A total of 126 million cubic meters of water, instead of planned 142 million cubic meters, were drained from the Sevan for irrigation purposes in 2009. This is by 65 million cubic meters less than the average index for the past five years, and by 174 million cubic meters less than in 2008 – or 2.5 times.

“This year the nature has also helped with auspicious conditions in this matter. Precipitation in July, August and September exceeded the norm three times,” the lake expert said.

Movsisyan emphasized the importance of the project launched this year on the restoration of sewage pipes and construction of filtration stations in Gavar, Martuni, Vardenis, Sevan and Jermuk due to 15 million euros (5 million grant and 10 million loan) provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

“These are only five out of 59 populated areas that have to do with the lake,” he said.

Movsisyan said that unless Armenia has 8 billion cubic meters of stored potable water in the coming years, then it will lose its leading role in the region and will have to spend $20 billion to store that necessary amount of water.

In order to have 8 billion cubic meters of pure water, it is planned to raise the level of Lake Sevan by six meters in the next 21 years – to 1,905 meters instead of today’s 1,899 meters, by an average of 20-21 centimeters a year.

A total of 1,697 structures, four irrigation pumping stations, 15 kilometers of roads, 18 kilometers of electricity lines, 19 kilometers of gas pipes and 2,789 hectares of forest territory will remain under water as the Sevan rises.