Thursday, July 26 2018 13:34

ArmInfo. The problem of Sevan fouling by algae is due not only to the high temperature background. Minister of Nature Protection Erik Grigoryan told journalists on July 26.

According to him, the Ministry of Health of Armenia has already  announced the risks of this phenomenon.  Environmentalists will  present ecological risks after they have been studied at the end of  the month.

Today, as Grigoryan pointed out, it can be said that the problem is  related not only to the high temperature background, but also to  scanty precipitation and the dumping of extremely polluted waters  into the basins of the country. "At present, there are several water  treatment stations that perform only mechanical cleaning. This must  be corrected," he said.

Previously, ecologist Karine Danielyan stated that the problem of  Sevan fouling by seaweed is so great that it threatens the only large  reservoir in the territory of Armenia by turning into a swamp.  "During the Soviet period, forty different institutions studied the  state of the lake. And already then it was fixed that it is necessary  to raise the water level by 6 meters. However, at the moment it is  the minimum necessary norm, which is capable of providing  self-cleaning of the lake, "the expert said.

Also Danielyan stressed the need to build new water treatment plants,  clean rivers and establish control over emissions from the shores of  the lake.

Meanwhile, on the eve of the Ministry of Health appealed to citizens  not to swim in the seaweed-covered areas of Lake Sevan. According to  the statement of the Ministry of Health, algae can be dangerous to  health and become the cause of manifestations of such diseases as  asthma, allergies, dizziness, fever, colic in the stomach, sore  throats and joints, liver problems.