ArmInfo.As of August 12 of this year, compared with the same period last year, 51 million cubic meters less water were taken from Lake Sevan, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan announced this on his Facebook page.
"As of August 12, the volume of water discharged from Sevan is 93 million cubic meters instead of last year's 144 cubic meters. This means that there is a high probability that water withdrawal from Sevan will not exceed 170 cubic meters established by law, "Pashinyan wrote.
According to the Prime Minister, the reason for this situation is more or less favorable weather and the application of emergency measures in the field of water management.
To recall, on June 6, the government decided that in 2019 water releases from Lake Sevan will not exceed 170 million cubic meters. According to the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of the Republic of Armenia Suren Papikyan, the need for water intake from Lake Sevan is due to the need to irrigate 32 thousand hectares of agricultural land in the Armavir, Ararat, Kotayk and Aragatsotn regions of the republic. The reservoirs of the republic, as the minister noted, are full, but they are out of the reach of the above areas. The Office will do everything in its power to exclude additional water withdrawals. RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted that 170 million cubic meters fit into the volumes stipulated by the current legislation of the country. Nevertheless, as the head of government emphasized, it is necessary to use the lake's waters as efficiently as possible to prevent additional releases, even despite the expected heat.