EcoLur
Water Committee Chair Inessa Gabayan responded to the open letter addressed by S.O.S Sevan initiative to Nikol Pashinyan on the problems of Lake Sevan and the deficit of water. The reply letter says: 'Over the recent years, as of 30 May, 1 and 5 August, the lake level was high only in 2017 (by 13 cm, 4cm and 1 cm, respectively) than in 2018: this happens despite the fact that over the recent 5 years the lake level was lower by up to 30 cm on the same days, but there were no intensive eutrophication phenomena observed in the lake.
It should be mentioned that in the spring months of the current year the concentrations of phosphate and ammonium ions were relatively higher as compared with the same time period of the last year, nevertheless, RA Nature Protection Ministry mentioned the formation of favourable conditions for the extensive blooming in the lake due to the drastic increase in the temperature still in July based on the initial research. Currently, there are no phenomena of blooming observed.
The irrigation water supply of around 35,600 ha land areas in Ararat Valley and adjacent pre-mountainous zones is carried out with the irrigation canal systems starting from Sevan-Hrazdan derivation system, where the total water loss makes up around 57%.
Since 2010 the dangerous sections of Arpa-Sevan tunnel have been rehabilitated with the loaning and budgetary means, which will enable to make the water volume transferred to the lake to make up to 250 million/cum after the accomplishment of the construction works (2019).
In order to ensure the mitigation the deficit of the water demand in the aforementioned land areas, the National Assembly endorsed additional water outlet in the amount of 40 million dum from Lake Sevan in 2018.'
September 27, 2018 at 15:54