ArmInfo.Apparently, this year Lake Sevan will also bloom again due to blue-green algae.
As Deputy Minister of the Environment Irina Ghaplanyan said at a press conference on June 2, water quality studies show that there is already a slight decrease in phosphorus in Sevan, which indicates the activation of blue-green algae. To recall, it was this particular type of algae that caused unprecedented blooming of the lake over the last 40 years in 2018 and 2019. Meanwhile, Ghaplanyan noted that at this stage it is difficult to predict the extent of flowering, since this process depends on the influence of a number of factors. The deputy minister also pointed out that last year, the flowering process of Sevan began in mid-June, and lasted several weeks.
Ghaplanyan informed that the negative factors affecting the flowering of Sevan water include, in particular, the negative balance repeatedly recorded in recent years, pollution of the lake by household and other wastes, as well as an increase in air temperature due to climate change. She recalled that earlier the EU allocated a grant of 5 million euros to Armenia to solve a number of problems in Lake Sevan. In particular, the experts developed a document that included three measures: the creation of a community wastewater treatment plant; river bed cleaning; reclamation of an abandoned Sotsk field. According to Ghaplanyan, the document is at the stage of discussion with partner organizations, and the above activities are likely to be implemented from September of this year.
As for the water level of Lake Sevan, the deputy minister informed that in the first three months of this year, there was a decrease in precipitation in the republic. Meanwhile, the situation has stabilized somewhat since mid-April and in the month of May. So, by May 10, the May monthly rainfall fell across the country. Thus, as Gaplanyan noted, at the moment a negative balance in the lake has not been recorded.