ArmInfo.The European Union will provide Armenia with funds to solve the problems of Lake Sevan. At the February 20 meeting, the RA government approved an agreement with the EU for signing.
As Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan noted in his speech, it is envisaged to send 5 million euros in the form of a grant to solve the task. The project will reduce water releases from the lake and improve water quality. The program provides for other activities related to Sevan.
In turn, the Minister of the Environment of the Republic of Armenia Eric Grigoryan informed that within the framework of the program it is planned to build three treatment plants in Martuni, Gavar and Vardenis. For this purpose, a "road map" has been developed, within the framework of which there is a group of international engineers in Armenia, which is working on the issue of treatment plants. Earlier, the chairman of the Lake Sevan commission at the NAS of Armenia, Yuri Javadyan, reported that one of the main causes of pollution of Sevan is a drain into the lake of sewage from almost all settlements of Gegharkunik. The expert stated that in Martuni only 45% of the houses are equipped with sewage, in Vardenis 20%, the largest percentage of such houses in Gavar (47%). He noted that the three water treatment plants operating on the lake pollute more than clean the Sevan ecosystem. Waste arising after mechanical treatment of water should be sent to a landfill, but there is none in the area. "Thus, about 340 tons of garbage that comes from Sevan are dumped somewhere, and then, in the spring, waste flows back into the lake. But this is not the only reason for the pollution of water in the lake. Another reason is that Within the framework of the program, trees were cut down on the coastal area of 700 hectares, however, stumps of these trees remained, which led to decay and, as a result, pollution of the lake. water level rise is not made it possible to carry out the necessary measures and solve all these issues, "said Javadyan.
He also presented options that, according to the expert, can solve this problem. In particular, he noted the need to install special treatment facilities at all facilities located on the shore, the creation of a garbage dump near the town of Hrazdan, as well as special pools for water treatment.
It should be noted that Lake Sevan is the main source of drinking water in the region, one of the largest alpine lakes in Europe and Asia, located in the heart of the Armenian Highlands, at an altitude of 1914 meters. Last year, blue-green algae bloomed in the lake in large numbers, after which the Ministry of Health of Armenia called on the inhabitants of the country not to swim in these parts of the lake, since these algae are toxic. In turn, the "flowering" of Sevan caused serious concern for environmentalists, who sounded the alarm. Moreover, experts said that it was necessary to take appropriate measures and save Sevan. Two versions are put forward as the reasons for Sevan blooming, according to the first, the reason is the spread of blue-green algae, as another reason for the "bloom" of the lake, experts call the decrease in the lake water level.