City authorities plan to clean Yerevan Lake and open recreational area

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Yerevan City Hall, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank, is researching the Yerevan Lake with the purpose of starting a lakebed cleaning process.

The bottom of the artificial reservoir has never been cleaned before.

“The accumulated sludge on the bottom of the lake and near the shores has reduced the useful volume of the lake; we can now store less water for irrigation and other purposes. Together with the Asian Development Bank we are carrying out a study about the volume and composition of the accumulated residue on the bottom, and innovative solutions will be proposed to clean the sludge entirely,” Gorik Avetisyan, the Deputy Director of the Environmental Department of Yerevan City Hall told Armenpress.

After the waste removal process is completed, it will be possible to use Yerevan Lake as a recreational area. All shores will be restored, and a bridge will be constructed to connect two shores.

The entire work will last about five years, the official said. 

Authorities have already restored and cleaned one shore, and opened a new public park: the process took three years.

At the same time, authorities are working to clean Hrazdan River of solid waste, which will in turn prevent waste accumulation in Yerevan Lake.

In addition to the waste collector nets and biological water treatment plants, authorities plan to build wastewater collectors along the entire river. 

There are over 600 illegally built draining pipes that contaminate Hrazdan River with untreated wastewater. City officials plan to resolve the issue given its environmental significance.