Old Pipes Changed To New Ones at Argitchi SHPP

EcoLur

The regular breakdown at Argitchi SHPP on 13 May detected essential technical violations in the construction of this SHPP. Argitchi River is one of the main rivers feeding Lake Sevan, where the spawning of endemic fish species takes place.

The breakdown took place in the territory of Verin Getashen Village, up Argitchi SHPP power station, in the same place where previous two breakdowns occurred in July and September 2013. 'The spill out was so powerful that the car and excavator were washed away. The fish flew out of the pipes with fountains of water into our fields. We collected some fish, but the water had so much mud in, that the fish died, and nobody already collected it from the fields,' said eye-witness, a Verin Getashen villager.

The main reason is the poor equipment, which is technically not compliant with the loads that the pipeline experiences in the section with high variation of heights. We saw new plastic pipes alternatively with old metallic ones. The breakdown occurred at the adjunction of pipes made of different materials, and now the company is changing plastic pipes to metallic ones dating back to the Soviet era. In reply to the question why such old pipes are used, a worker said, 'Using whatever we have.'

Argitchi SHPP has been operating since fall of the last year, but it managed to cause damage to villages. “If you could see how much fish had spilled out of the pipes, which means all that fish gets into turbines and gets ground there. While these fish species are our pride. Three breakdowns occurred, but no one was interested in the damage caused to nature, as if this river is not Argitchi, but a streamlet,' the villagers said.

Several families have their fields located just on the spot of the breakdown or under the pipeline. “Nobody grows anything here: who wants to lose their harvest? We were compensated only once last year. No guarantees - nothing. They didn't give us anything for the land areas either… It's a year since we have been fighting with this company (“Hydrocorporation” CJSC), but they just promise all the time, no actions…We were seized our land areas without our consent, permits and compensations, illegally, just the village head signed the permit, but he doesn't solve anything...'the villagers said.

It should be noted that Argitchi SHPP has been funded by German  KfW Bank, whom EcoLur addressed a letter pointing out illegal features of the construction and proposal to stop funding (http://ecolur.org/en/news/water/open-letter-on-excluding-argitchi-shpp-from-project-list-submitted-for-kfw-funding/5425/).

May 29, 2014 at 11:16