Armenia, Georgia continue to pollute Kura and Araz

By Azernews

By Amina Nazarli

The National Monitoring Department on Environment of the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry carried out the next monitoring for the second decade of December to study the contamination level of Kura and Araz transboundary rivers, as well as their transboundary confluents.

The monitoring revealed that water consumption in Kura river held 189m3/sec in the second decade of December decreasing 2m3/sec in relation to the first decade of December.

The monitoring in Kura river also revealed that the amount of bio substances were considerably more than norm due to domestic wastes and slops of industrial institutions discharged directly to water objects without purification from the territories of Georgia and Armenia.

“Phenol and copper compounds as specific contaminants in the water component exceeded the admissible turbidity level. In this regard phenols and copper compounds exceeded the turbidity level trice and five fold in Shikhli 2 settlement, thrice and fourfold in Aghstafachay settlement, thrice and twice in Aghstafachay,” the report reads.

In second decade of December within Araz river phenols and copper compounds exceeded the turbidity level twice, twice and one fold in Horadiz settlement, trice and trice in I Shahsevan settlement, twice and twice in Bahramtapa settlement respectively.

The water oxygen regime changed within the sanitary norm in all settlements being about 6.22-7.30mg/l.

Overall, the Department periodically checks the pollution level of the transboundary  rivers, and the results often exceed the permissible level due to the fault of the neighboring countries where the rivers start.

Waste thrown into the Araz River is the most harmful. The heavy metals and other hazardous, toxic, and radioactive wastes brought by the Okhchuchay, which takes its beginning from Armenian territory, pollute the Araz River.

Following Araz River’s flowing into the Kur River, these hazardous materials in turn pollute the Kur River that is the main source of drinkable water for majority of Azerbaijani regions.

The Kura river also gives the means of producing energy to the Mingachevir, Varvara, Shamkir and Yenikend hydro power stations, while it is the only river in the country suitable for shipping.

The Kura River is significant for Azerbaijan, which suffers water shortages throughout the year, when compared with the two another Southern Caucasus countries.