Parliament starts debates on approving more water use from Lake Sevan

YEREVAN, AUGUST 17, ARMENPRESS. Parliament is in session to debate a government-backed bill seeking to allow authorities to use more water from Lake Sevan, specifically by increasing the maximum annual allowed volume to 245 million cubic meters.

The current law allows to use up to 170 million cubic meters from the lake which is an important source for irrigation water.

Government officials earlier cited high temperatures and the drought as the cause of water shortages stored in reservoirs, and proposed to amend the law by increasing the volume by75 million cubic meters.

“The maximum volume of water the 12 reservoirs had in 2021 stood at 526,7 million cubic meters, with the deficit compared to the previous year being 140,8 million cubic meters. As of August 1, 2021 the reservoirs had 226,6 million cubic meters of water, whereas in the same period of 2020 the number was 351,9 million cubic meters, the water deficit comprises 125,7 million cubic meters,” Water Committee Chairman Karen Sargsyan said. He added that decreased waters of Hrazdan River led to an unplanned water use from the Aparan, Azat and Marmarik reservoirs (which feed the Sevan-Hrazdan irrigation system), which in turn led to a 21,43 million cubic meter deficit in these reservoirs.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan