Government Criticized For Seeking Extra Water From Vital Lake

Environment protection groups on Friday denounced the Armenian government for moving to increase the amount of water from Lake Sevan that can be used for irrigation this year.

The vast mountainous lake, which is vital for Armenia’s entire ecosystem, is a key source of irrigation water supplied to the fruit-growing Ararat Valley west and south of Yerevan through the Hrazdan river flowing out of it.

An Armenian law allows the government to use no more than 170 million cubic meters of Sevan’s water annually for irrigation and power generation purposes. A bill approved by the government on Thursday would raise that cap by 40 million cubic meters for the current irrigation season.

The measure was proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture. Agriculture Minister Artur Khachatrian warned of water shortages that could have “devastating” consequences for tens of thousands of farmers.

“This solution may not be desirable but it has no alternative,” Khachatrian said at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. “We arrived at it as a result of lengthy joint discussions.”

Pashinian said that the government is agreeing to the proposal “with a heavy heart.” It has no choice but to address farmers’ urgent needs, he said.

The bill, which the Armenian parliament will debate next week, was approved just a few weeks after a coalition of environment protection groups called SOS Sevan urged Pashinian to block any extra use of Sevan’s water. It claimed that the bulk of that water would only benefit hydroelectric stations and fish farms operating in the Ararat Valley. Accordingly, SOS Armenia urged the parliament to block measure.

Inga Zarafian, a representative of the grouping, said that the level of Sevan has dropped in the past year and this process will continue if the bill is passed by the National Assembly. That would only worsen the quality of the lake’s water, she said.

Zarafian complained that unlike former authorities in Yerevan Pashinian’s cabinet did not consult with environmentalists before making the controversial decision.She also pointed out that as recently as one year ago Pashinian and his political allies opposed a similar measure taken by Armenia’s previous government.

Evelina Ghukasian, the director of the state-funded Institute of Hydroecology and Fish Breeding, echoed the environmentalists’ concerns. “Water resources are badly mismanaged,” she said. “We oppose the constant use of Lake Sevan as a water reservoir.”