EcoLur
“ArmWaterProject Institute” CJSC Director and a member of Public Council, Chairman of two committees on Lake Sevan Ecosystem Preservation both by Armenian President and National Academy of Sciences of Armenia Yuri Javadyan gave comments to Yerkir Media TV on the bill on making amendments to RA Law “On Approving Annual and Complex Programs for Recovery, Conservation, Reproduction and Use of Lake Sevan Ecosystem”, due to which water outlets from Lake Sevan exceed the statutory-set standard of 170 million cubic meters and reach 270 million cubic meters. Reminder: Yuri Javadyan signed the positive opinion of the expert committee on the additional water outlets of 200 million cum. Based on the committee opinion, the government made a relevant decision, while MPs voted for the bill – 74 /4.
“Nobody can say that Sevan will decrease by 8 cm or will increase by 5 cm. But based my own experience I can say that a minus (note be EcoLur: a negative balance) won't happen,” Javadyan claimed. Then he brings calculations in accordance with which inflow of river water into Lake Sevan makes up 750 million cum, while evaporation makes up 1 billion 100 million cum, while the remaining water flows into the lake through Arpa-Sevan tunnel. He brought several arguments in favour of the positive lake level for Sevan mainly focusing on the increase in level is planned and regulated and it happens mainly due to the water flowing through the tunnel. He recommends not to stop water inflow through the tunnel, as the rivers don't have much water this year.
Javadyan's assurance on the preservation of the positive balance for the lake is not clear, especially if to take into consideration the poor state of Arpa-Sevan tunnel, while the Armenian Government allocated additional sum of money of 11 billion 800 million AMD for the capital reconstruction of the tunnel by 2016 with the financial support of Abu Dhabi Fund, and in 2017 the Armenian Government approved the new program of canal reconstruction up to 2019.
Spandaryan-Kechout tunnel hasn't been operating since its launch in 2004. If to take into consideration that 2017 is considered to be a low-water year, then “ArmWaterProject Institute” CJSC Director's forecasts on the positive balance of the lake remain good wishes, especially if to take into consideration the fact a negative balance was recorded at two additional water outlets from the lake, about which Yury Javadyan currently keeps silence about.
July 13, 2017 at 15:51