Thursday, October 10 2019 14:40

ArmInfo. In the current year, as of today, the release of water from Lake Sevan amounted to 140 million cubic meters. This was announced on October 10 at a  government meeting by the Minister of Nature Protection of the  Republic of Armenia Erik Grigoryan.

According to him, the volume of water releases were less than  prescribed by law by 30 million cubic meters. The surface of the lake  increased by 5 cm, and, according to him, it would be even greater if  the climatic conditions in Armenia were close to the average. "In any  case, the balance will be positive," the minister said.

He said that it is expected to receive a grant from the EU in the  amount of 5 million euros for the establishment of cleaning systems.  Work is also underway to clean the surrounding areas. This work,  according to Grigoryan, will continue next year. However, as noted,  if the problem of wastewater from 10 communities is not resolved, the  risks of deterioration of water quality in the lake will increase.  Meanwhile, work is underway to prevent such a development.

In turn, the Minister of Territorial Administration and  Infrastructures of the Republic of Armenia, Suren Papikyan, assured  those present that the figures for the current year are minimal, and  with coordinated work next year, more tangible results will be  achieved.

"That's a rather bold statement, especially given the unpredictable  climate change. In any case, we take note of your statement", said  the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, adding that, as of  September, the quality of the lake's water was visually high.

Earlier, the Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia presented  information on the ecological state of Lake Sevan and the steps taken  in connection with the threat of "swamping" of the lake. The  Ministry's report, in particular, says: "Recently, blue-green algae  of the Anabaena genus have been growing in Lake Sevan.  These algae  in the lake were first noticed in the 1940s, and the first blooming  was recorded in 1964 and repeated in different volumes in other  years, including in 2018".

According to experts, several factors contributed to the growth of  blue-green algae - wastewater from a dozen settlements and coastal  facilities flowing into the lake, agriculture, fish farming and  animal husbandry, in particular, the remains of phosphorus and  nitrogen penetrating the waters of Sevan, the flooded coastal forest  belt, high temperature and climatic changes, low precipitation, as  well as frequent and strong winds that increase water evaporation.