RA GOVERNMENT OFFERS TO INCREASE WATER DISCHARGES FROM SEVAN LAKE IN 2008 OVER TWICE

arminfo
2008-08-08 12:42:00

ArmInfo. At today’s session of the government, RA Prime Minister Tigran
Sarkisyan offered the Armenian parliament to hold special session
on August 19 to get permission for increase of water discharges from
Sevan lake.

He said that an emergency situation developed because of dry weather,
that requires immediate solution. He said that in case the problem
solution fails, serious economic and social problems may occur in the
republic as numerous farms may turned out to be without irrigating
water.

Chairman of the of RA water economy State Committee Andranik
Andreasyan said at today’s press-conference that the government asks
the Parliament to allow water discharges from Sevan lake in 2008 to
360 mln cub m, though the law envisages 170 mln. A. Andreasyan also
said that sharp lack of water has been stipulated by shallowness and
unprecedented dry climate. In view of this, the irrigating season
started two months earlier and 240,000 farms may face the problem
of lack of the irrigating water. He said that he has to apply to the
Parliament for the first time with request to make changes to the law
and increase water discharges from the lake. The Committee chairman
added assured that increase of water discharges will not endanger Sevan
as the level of water in the lake raised by 45 cm since the beginning,
2008. By his estimations, change of 1 cm of water is adequate to 13
mln cub m of water.