Blooming Begins in Lake Sevan: Statement

The Expert Commission for the Protection of Lake Sevan of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences has issued a statement: "The Expert Commission for the Protection of Lake Sevan is an independent and professional expert body established under the law 'On Lake Sevan'. The Commission carries out preliminary and summary examinations of comprehensive and annual programs (reports) concerning Lake Sevan, as well as the documents ensuring their implementation, and provides conclusions.

On July 12 this year, the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia adopted a draft law to amend the law on 'Approval of Annual and Comprehensive Programs for the Restoration, Conservation, Reproduction, and Use of the Ecosystem of Lake Sevan,' according to which up to 70 million cubic meters of water will be additionally released from Lake Sevan, with total water withdrawal reaching up to 240 million cubic meters.

The draft law was sent to the Commission after being approved by the Armenian government, rather than beforehand. On July 7, the Commission convened an extraordinary meeting with the leadership of the Water Committee of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure to discuss the draft law. The Commission noted that the data presented by the Water Committee need refinement. The Water Committee had calculated an annual water demand of 521 million cubic meters, whereas the Commission calculated that the water demand is 390 million cubic meters, indicating that there is no need for additional water withdrawal from Lake Sevan.

Additionally, the Water Committee represented the irrigated areas as 31.3 thousand hectares in one case and 30.4 thousand hectares in another, resulting in a difference of nearly 1000 hectares. According to the Water Committee’s calculations, 16.6 cubic meters of water is used per hectare, resulting in a total of around 16 million cubic meters of water. Inaccurate land data could lead to an unnecessary withdrawal of an additional 16 million cubic meters of water from the lake, which is unacceptable.

The Commission has sent a negative conclusion to the Water Committee regarding additional water withdrawal from Lake Sevan, stating: “Considering the negative annual variations in the water level of Lake Sevan in recent years and the deterioration of the ecological condition of the lake due to intensified ‘blooming’ processes, the Commission suggests excluding the excess of the water withdrawal established by the law and decision number N704-A of the Armenian government dated 11.05.2023, which is set at 170 million cubic meters for the year 2023. Based on the predictions of the RSRA “Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center,” it is clear that even with the water withdrawal of 170 million cubic meters, the annual variation of the water level of Lake Sevan will still be negative. At the same time, we consider it necessary to note that this July's hydrometeorological conditions are more favorable compared to 2022.”

According to Article 21, Section 5 of the law on 'Lake Sevan,' the conclusion of the Commission is presented to the National Assembly meeting by the President of the Commission. The discussion of the conclusion is conducted according to the procedures established by the law 'On the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia.'

Despite the Commission's negative conclusion, the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia approved the bill on additional water withdrawal from Lake Sevan, without inviting the President of the Commission to the National Assembly and not listening to professional arguments, thus violating the procedures established by the law on 'Lake Sevan.' This conduct is extremely concerning for us.

Fluctuations in the level of Lake Sevan lead to a worsening ecological condition of the lake. When the water level decreases, mixing occurs between the bottom layers and surface waters of the lake. The organic material that has accumulated over the years in the bottom sediments creates fertile soil for the primary link of the food chain, phytoplankton, to flourish, leading to ‘blooming.’ This year, ‘blooming’ has already begun in Lake Sevan. Eutrophication processes are underway in the lake. This will affect both the biological resources of the lake and the social situation of the coastal communities.

When declaring water scarcity in the country, it should also be taken into account that there is water scarcity for Lake Sevan. Sevan can no longer provide water supply due to its ecological condition. According to the philosophy of the law on 'Lake Sevan,' water supply should form water demand, but the opposite logic is at work in our case.

To protect the ecosystem of Lake Sevan, it is necessary to: exclude additional water withdrawals from Lake Sevan; set the water withdrawal from Lake Sevan at 90 million cubic meters in case of water scarcity in the Republic; ensure stable flow rates of water withdrawal from the lake during both day and night (including from the Aghburok reservoir) to minimize water losses in the Sevan-Hrazdan hydrosystem; evaluate water loss and take measures to prevent illegal water use and reduce water loss; maintain norms for water requirement of agricultural crops; reduce excessive normative water losses, develop incentive mechanisms, and water-saving technologies for farmers cultivating crops suitable for the land type; organize irrigation during night hours; renovate reservoirs, clean reservoirs from silt and sediments, and build new reservoirs to relieve the burden on Lake Sevan; invest in a water withdrawal distribution accounting system; construct biological treatment plants in the watershed of Lake Sevan to solve the sewage problem of coastal communities; create a management commission for the issues of Lake Sevan under the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, which will deal with solving the problems of Lake Sevan.”