Sisians' sewage flows into Vorotan River: wastewater treatment plant privatized, reports Hetq

Located 300 meters away from one of the renowned water mirrors of the city of Sisian, the wastewater flowing into the Vorotan River changes the color of the water. Over the years, the Vorotan has remained the only sewage outlet for Sisian. Wastewater from the city's domestic and industrial sources is discharged into the river from three different locations.

The prospect of having clean rivers and a pleasant environment in Sisian was very close to reality at the end of the 1980s. It seemed that the issue of wastewater and the pollution of the river would soon be solved once and for all, however, the construction of the treatment plant, which was never completed, did not meet the expectations of Sisian residents.

According to the Hydro-Meteorological and Monitoring Center, in 2022, the water of the Vorotan River, 6 kilometers downstream from Sisian, was rated 4th class—insufficient. This means that according to the 5-class scale for assessing surface water quality, it ranks as the 2nd worst indicator. And in the first quarter of this year, the water quality was poor. The chemical elements found in the river water significantly exceeded the norm. Typically, the quality of water becomes far worse downstream of urban areas because household and industrial wastewater is discharged into the river without treatment.

According to information provided to Hetq by the regional governor's office, the wastewater from all 36 settlements of the Sisian community is dumped into nature—rivers, streams, valleys, plots of land, and even reservoirs. For instance, the sewage from the village of Tolors flows into the Tolors reservoir, while that from Shamb village flows into the Shamb reservoir.

Back in 2017, the five-year development plan for the Sisian community included provisions to clean the water mirrors of the Vorotan River, with the aim of having predominantly clean water by 2021. However, these forecasts did not materialize.

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