“Water outages will occur because during peak summer months we need nighttime shutdowns so that reservoirs can refill and the stored water can be used during the daytime. But instead of 7 hours, outages will be reduced to 34 hours,” Aramazd Ghalamkaryan, Chair of Water Committee of Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, noted on March 3 at the National Assembly.
Recently, Veolia Water CJSC announced a transition to a 17-hour water supply regime, citing a 24% decrease in the discharge of water sources, a sharp increase in new consumers due to construction, and the need to prevent nighttime water losses. The announcement caused public dissatisfaction. It was followed by statements from the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure and the Yerevan Municipality that the new schedule would be suspended.
Aramazd Ghalamkaryan noted that they had requested a two-week period to work with Veolia and review the schedule.
“Our preliminary assessment is that we have the potential to improve the schedule, based on two main factors. First, mandatory capital works programs are ongoing and will be intensified, resulting in significant water savings — both in Yerevan and in the regions. Second, we have newly identified water sources. Work on these began before the current schedule was introduced; please do not link the two. A decision was made to allocate additional resources and deliver water from these sources to Yerevan at an accelerated pace.”
According to Ghalamkaryan, Veolia and the Government of Armenia have invested 22 billion dollars in infrastructure over the past two years, which is expected to improve the system.
In response to an inquiry by Ecolur in autumn 2025, Veolia Water stated that under the 2024-2031 contract it is required to ensure 23 hours of water supply in Yerevan and 20 hours in other cities and rural settlements.
When asked when 24-hour water supply would be ensured throughout Yerevan, the company replied that the lease agreement contains no indicator or requirement to provide subscribers with 24-hour water service.
Regarding water losses, the company stated that the contract envisages reducing losses to 58.9% by the final year of the agreement (2031). However, as of the first half of 2025, losses have already been reduced to 55%.
In earlier publications addressing drinking water issues in Yerevan, Ecolur reported that, according to the city’s master plan, the operational reserves of five water sources supplying Yerevan - Arzni, Arzakan, Gyumush, Tsarav Aghbyur, and Getamej - have not been officially confirmed. Three sources - Garni, Aparan, and Katnaghbyur - require reassessment or review. Only two sources - Dzoraghbyur and the Yerevan HPP springs - have confirmed reserves.
In response to Ecolur’s inquiry, RA Environment Ministry stated that Veolia Water has been granted 43 water use permits, including 9 permits for servicing Yerevan.
Our study indicates that Veolia Water has received water use permits from sources with unconfirmed reserves, as well as from sources requiring reassessment or feasibility evaluation.
March 03, 2026 at 18:35