Winston Yu, Senior Water Resources Specialist at the World Bank, responds to questions from Hetq

According to the findings of theWorld Bank 2014 report Towards Integrated Water Resources Management by 2030, a 25 % reduction in river flow is projected in Armenia. In your view, what steps should the government of Armenia take to avoid further deepening of poverty in the country and the risk of desertification?

It is critical to note that the consequences of climate change on this country are highly uncertain and vary across regions. So we believe that it is key to improve and strengthen water management in the country. The authorities should be adaptive and take a more institutional approach for providing farmers with the tools to be able to cope with what will come tomorrow. In this process the government should support the communities and farms.

For instance, when we compare the economic returns of irrigated land with rain-fed areas, we notice that the farms which benefited from irrigation have been able to generate more income. Thus, if the government is able to provide farmers with access to irrigation, it would help cope with climate change. On the other hand, if the government is able to promote more efficient use of water resources, in such case the farms will be able to generate more income and thus avoid poverty. To conclude, I would like to just mention that I cannot tell you what is the future going to be like, but in any case I would like to see a stronger water resources management system in Armenia.

How do you assess availability of water resource in Armenia?

There are specific data, such as those published by Hydromet and the Water Committee providing the general picture of water resource availability. In fact, Armenia’s resources compare quite well with other countries. The main challenge is how the uneven resources and uneven demand are being matched. This is of course the daily task of water sector managers along with how to manage the sector in the long term and what investment to make. One of the critical observations we made in the report Toward Integrated Water Resources Management is the importance of monitoring. The Hydromet service currently has a quite good network of monitoring stations but more is needed and the state should make investments in this area.

According to the findings of the same report, the current monitoring system ofwater resources is quite weak and thus the results that serve as a basis for issuing water use permits are highly unreliable. Can those results be trusted?

-Of course, to find that out each structure and area has to be studied separately, point by point, and if I were to try to identify the most needed type of monitoring, that would be the groundwater water monitoring. Ararat Valley is a vivid example, where water use permits continue to be issued despite the lack of data.

The data served as a basis for issuing permits for hydro power plants and fisheries and shortly issues have arisen, such as stagnation of lakes, devastation of nature and water scarcity among a large number of water-users. What solutions would you recommend given the continuously shrinking water resource? 

As I already mentioned the overall monitoring system as well as the system of issuing permits could be improved because we are not only talking about the process of issuing those permits. What is also important is that the terms of permits are complied with and they are enforced, as it is possible that in fact they use more resources than they are allowed under the permit. Also, from environmental perspective, if we want to create a nice natural environment, have good fauna and flora, create a good ecosystem and leave it for our children, we need to improve the monitoring and control. The main challenge for water resources management is that it touches upon all aspects of life and the economy: agriculture, hydro power plants, water supply, irrigation, environment, etc. Thus, it is important how we chose as a society where to allocate those resources. Here, I think, issuing of permits is the main lever that the government has in making such choice.

It is known that the rivers of Armenia flow into the neighboring republics, and a lack of large capacity to store water resources as well as about a dozen of unsafe reservoirs has a negative impact on irrigation. Does the Bank have solutions for addressing emergencies?

Over the last decade the World Bank (WB) has been working with the government of Armenia on improving dam safety of water reservoirs. Reservoirs play an important role in water resources management and they are critical for irrigation, water supply, hydro power plants as well as for recreationn, if we take the Lake Sevan example. As you know, the government seeks donor and IFI support for increasing the funding available for reservoirs and in general I find this to be a good idea.

On the other hand, however, if we want to imagine how we would like to see Armenia 15-20 years from now a key question is how many more projects are necessary in addition to the four projects planned to be implemented by the government. As we know, reservoirs could have social and environmental impact. It means that in addition to technical and engineering solutions we have to be aware of their social and environmental implications.

Currently, the Bank-funded Kachtsrashen project is under consideration but the population of the target Garni community is against it. Local villagers claim that data on water resources in River Azat are overestimated, and if water withdrawn from the river for a transfer through the pipeline reaches 900 l/sec, the statutory requirement of850 l/sec of environmental flow will not be met in the river. In view of this, how feasible is the implementation of Kachtstrashen project, the objective of which is to replace the delivery by pumping by a gravity scheme?

You are asking a very important question. The World Bank views social and environmental safeguards as highly important and naturally does not approve any project without the review and positive assessment of relevant experts in terms of the absence of any  negative impact on the people and the environment. If you were to participate in the meetings between the government and our missions during our visits, you would see that we keep asking this question - what is the impact of building any structure on the population in the area and the environment?

Earlier you asked about monitoring, in this particular case in Azat Gorge we have a quite good monitoring station and a lot of data covering a long period of time. The longer the period covered by the data, the better. It means that here we have a station that has been collecting data from 1936 to date. On Sunday we are going on a field visit to see how the monitoring is conducted. However, based on the long data series our experts have analyzed and studied the data and we believe that the statutory requirement of 850 l/s environmental flow will be maintained. Even during an unusual period when water resources are quite little, the priority will nevertheless be given to environmental flow according to law. The only month that could be a concern is the month of August, when the demand for water is the highest. Since we want to rely on the government in adhering to the legislation it has introduced, we plan additional measures so that further stations are placed on the site.

During my first visit to Azat Gorge I was amazed at the beauty of the place: the symphony of stones, Garni Temple and everything else was simply magnificent. Naturally, from this perspective we could not undermine the beauty and the system has been designed in such manner as to allow the passage of fish. We recommended that the Water Management Project Implementation Unit together with the Environmental Inspectorate install an additional water quality monitoring system. Also, we asked them to conduct additional monitoring of water quality and publish it for also making it publicly available. The enforcement of regulations is not just the responsibility of the state but the public should also be involved in this process. When we consider the economic gains that we expect from moving from pumping to gravity scheme of water supply, we are sure that it is in the interest of the public. We should reduce to the extent possible the inefficient flow of water through pumps , since they carry enormous energy costs and of course, it is commonly known that climate changes are taking place because all of us consume more and more energy.

Giving preference to economic calculations is welcome, but I am myself a resident of Garni and I should say that the presented monitoring data are considerably different from the observations of the local people. Are the estimated project costs and losses justified given that during the seven months of the irrigation season in Ararat Valley, if water could be withdrawn from Azat River for a month or two at maximum?

I would like to make one comment on this issue. When we talk about the monitoring station and its measurements, we do not look at one year, and if there are inaccuracies in one year, I don’t think that data will be inaccurate over a  longer period of 80-90 years. Serious professionals work at Hydromet and international standards and methods are used in their work. I fully understand that there are doubts and misgivings and this is the reason why we are planning to arrange a visit and actually see how these measurements are taken. I am a hydrologist by training and I know sometimes how difficult it is to make measurements. However, this profession has a history of hundred years and the methods of assessing river resources are gradually enhanced.

Design engineers assure the residents of Garni that there are possibilities of increasing the quantity of water in River Azat. However, a recent WB report notes that in future the “increased air temperature and lower precipitation will increase evaporation rates and reduce winter snowpack and spring runoff, resulting in less river flow”. Given this conclusion, does the Bank plan to revise its approach on provision of financial support for Kachtsrashen project or at least postpone it until water reserves are significantly restored?

In such cases we have to wait for a long time. With climate change, as I already noted, it is very difficult to predict what will happen tomorrow. In the meantime, one thing is clear for me that we should use more efficiently the water that God gave to us. During the meetings that we had with the residents of Garni Community it was clear to us that there is an issue of water availability in Garni. It is a quite serious matter since it affects 2000 water users. The internal network by which the water is distributed among residents is inefficient. Garni’s main canal that transfers water to water users is also operating inefficiently. There is a section in Garni where losses are huge. Inhabitants of Garni mainly get water from two sources: one is the pipeline from Azat River and the second is the reservoir from Goght canal.

For quite a long time no investment was made in the canal to avoid losses. There are also losses in internal network from where the water is distributed among individual farms. Everything is interlinked in the system and if there is a failure in one section, the entire distribution system fails. If I can make a step tomorrow to reduce the water loss and increase water availability, irrespective of what are 2020 or 2025 going to be like, I think we should take those steps today. However, analysis needs to be done for it.

Under the Eurasian Development Bank project I understand it is planned to conduct a study. They perform technical analysis to make sure that this is a good investment. In any case, the preliminary information that I have reviewed is that it makes sense, as water would be more efficiently used in an area of more than 1000 ha and the returns would be higher. The key message is how efficiently we would be able to use and by using the same amount of water generate more income for farms.

Azat Reservoir is also unsafe, and this is why water losses there are high, perhaps the spending should target rehabilitation of the reservoir to reduce the losses.

By implementing the planned project we will already reduce water losses and improve availability. It is important to highlight the fact that Azat Reservoir irrigates approximately 10,000 ha and thus is a vital and important asset for the state.

However, to tell the truth I was not aware that the reservoir itself had issues but it can be looked at and if the dams need to be rehabilitated, it can also be done in the project. The Eurasian Development Bank wants to submit the project to the Board this year. If after the initial examination of facts it is found worth investing in this area, by fall they will start working in this direction.