ArmInfo. At the meeting on January 17, the Government of Armenia approved the concept and program of introducing water-saving technologies for the effective management of the country's water resources.
As Irina Ghaplanyan, Deputy Minister of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia, noted in her speech, the decision is based on the Ararat Valley water management plan for 2016-2021. According to her, at present, maintaining the environment is one of the priorities for Armenia. Inefficient water use and global climate change have become one of the most serious problems. Armenia, being a landlocked mountainous country, is characterized by vulnerable ecosystems, desiccation of water basins. In this situation, the role of the state is especially important in the protection and efficient use of water resources. It includes the development of policies in the field of water management, including the promotion of the introduction of efficient water-saving technologies, taking into account international experience in the introduction of new technologies. The implementation of the concept will serve as a basis for the restoration of water resources that have been inherited from traditional water use and current activities, will ensure further sustainable development of the environment, restore natural resources, and reduce adverse effects on human health.
To note, Armenia is not rich in water resources. The total mass of precipitation is 17 cubic km, while 10 cubic km are evaporated The river network is distributed extremely unevenly throughout the territory. ’he Araks River Basin occupies most of the territory of Armenia (76.5%), which originates in the Byurakn mountain range in Turkey. It is transit in nature and flows along the border with Turkey and Iran. The length of the Araks is 1072 km, the catchment area is 102 thousand square km. The main tributaries are the Akhuryan, Qasakh, Hrazdan, Azat, Vedi, Arpa. A cascade of hydroelectric power plants (Sevan, Atarbekyan, Gyumush, Arzni, Kanaker, Yerevan) with a total capacity of 556 thousand kW was built on Hrazdan. Irrigation canals (Arzni-Shamiram, Artashat, Down Hrazdan, Echmiadzin, Kotayk) originate from Hrazdan. On many rivers, reservoirs have been built to regulate flow: Aparan reservoir on the r. Qasakh, Zovashen-on the river Azat and others. The rivers of the Kura basin are few. Among them is Debet the most full-flowing (after Araks) river of Armenia. In total, water amounts to about 7 billion cubic meters, of which slightly more than half are actively used.