“Design and Author Supervision for reconstruction of water supply systems of Masis Town and nearby seven villages”

Environmental Screening and Classification

The project includes implementation of the below activities.

Residential Water Internal Water supply Water metering Inlet line for Fire area main network and valve node for private private hydrant (km) (km) nodes (piece) houses (piece) houses (piece) (km) Masis 2.5 23.7 120 (910+39)* (7+1.3)* 66

Ayntap 1.4 29.5 61 1620 11.4 46

Arbat - 4.2 7 187 1.7 3

Hayanist 0.9 9.75 32 631 5.6 2

Azatashen 0.94 3.6 13 138 1.1 7

Dashtavan - 4.3 12 265 1.9 7

Darbnik - 5.3 10 304 2.7 5

Marmarashen - 10.1 23 250 1.75 23

*- inlet lines for multi-apartment buildings

Under the project it is planned also to repair the store part of the new pump station building of Masis and area improvement, as well as to reconstruct the Kharberd DRRs and improve the sanitary zone.

(A) IMPACT IDENTIFICATION

Has the subproject a tangible impact on The project does not have an irreversible impact on the environment. the environment? All the negative impacts will occur during the construction and will be of a temporary nature. The negative effects will be mitigated as a result of implementation of mitigating measures included in EMMP.

What are the significant beneficial and The main positive environmental impact is protection and efficient use adverse environmental effects of the of water resources, protection of water sources against depletion. subproject? Leakage elimination will allow preventing ground water level increase.

The expected negative environmental impacts are likely to be short term and will be expressed as noise, dust, vibration, and emissions from the operation of construction machinery; generation and dumping of construction waste.

In the areas of reconstruction and construction of water mains land, water and air pollution is possible.

Does the project have any significant The project has a big positive impact on 45978 population of 8 potential impact on the local or affected communities, which will improve their social and health condition. The communities? project will particularly improve the living conditions of women, as the main domestic water users. There are not ethnic minorities in the project areas, however, in Zorak, Darbnik and Dashavan villages and Masis town there are refugees. The project implementation in these communities will allow improving the living conditions of refugees, as the most vulnerable groups. The negative impacts of the project are short-term, related to the implementation of construction and are of local nature (are limited within the construction site). Those are: dust, noise, excavated trenches, disruption of traffic and so on. The project does not require new land allocations and population resettlement is not expected. What impact has the project on the human The project will also have a positive impact on the health of the health? population of settlements, since as a result of the project mixing of wastewater, watering and irrigation waters with drinking water will be excluded, the risk of contamination of drinking water will be reduced, penetration of infectious viruses into the drinking water supply system will be prevented and excluded, the duration of water supply to population will increase, as a result of which their sanitary-hygienic conditions will improve. Minor negative effects are related to the dust, emissions, noise and vibration during the construction.

(B) MITIGATION MEASURES

What alternatives to the subproject design have This project is a natural continuation of the works carried out been considered and what mitigation measures are within the World Bank-funded "Masis town W&W Systems proposed? Improvement", 2007 and ADB-funded "Water and Sanitation Project, Armenia” 2008-2011 projects and includes the works, which have not been implemented within the mentioned projects because of limited financial means.

As a result of preliminary studies the Consultant identified the deficiencies of water supply systems in the residential areas covered by the project and represented the volumes of the required works. Afterwards, after discussion with the Client, the Consultant developed a preliminary design for the implementation of the works and made investment evaluation of the work implementation.

Since the project is aimed at improving the external water supply systems and the internal networks of town Masis and 7 villages of the region, and the internal network needs rehabilitation and repair in all of the communities, the alternatives of the works to be implement in the internal networks were discussed only in terms of financial feasibility. For the external water supply system, water main reconstruction and for some villages, also taking out the mains out of the village areas was discussed as alternative. Based on the need of effective distribution and use of water, preventing illegal water uses, as well as the principle of equitable distribution of water, an option was selected, which offers constructing new water mains from Kharberd DRRs to Ayntap village, to take the water line of village Hayanist out of the Darbnik village residential area, and to bypass the greenhouses and privatized areas of Khachpar for the water main supplying the village. The negative environmental impacts will mainly occur in the construction phase, and can be easily mitigated as a result of correct organization of construction works. (1) During implementation of reconstruction works for the distribution network in the residential areas, there will not be negative impacts on the natural landscapes, surface and underground water resources. The main negative impacts will be expressed as environment and air pollution, disturbance of population (noise, dust, vibrations, excavated trenches, disruption of traffic, etc.), which will be of temporary nature. To prevent and to minimize these impacts, it is necessary to implement mitigating measures.

1.1 Temporary air pollution, generation of dust  Use of close/covered trucks during transportation of dust generating building materials,  Watering of construction sites in residential areas,  Providing the workers with necessary protective devices (respirator) in case of dust.

1.2 Environmental pollution with construction and household waste.  Correct organization of the construction site,  Regular removal and disposal of construction and household waste during the construction in the places allotted for that purpose, according to the established procedure. 1.3 Environmental pollution with fuel and lubricants.  Storage of fuels and lubricants on the isolated surfaces.  Providing special containers for collecting the used lubricants. 1.4 Environmental pollution with noise and vibrations.  Avoiding using machines/equipment with extra noise, installation of dampers  Implementation of construction in working hours, otherwise, installation of dampers  Regular inspection of construction equipment.

1.5. Disturbance to population  Provide information on construction to the community,  Provide bridges on the excavated trenches, effective road signs, diversions or barricades, if necessary, bypass organization.  Restoration of damaged surfaces within a limited time period after completion of construction activity  Reduction of the time when the water line trenches, pits for metering and regulatory nodes are open.

(2) During the renovation and construction of water mains, along with the above-mentioned impacts and mitigating measures, lateral erosion of the soil is possible, as well as land and water resources pollution with chlorine, for preventing of which it is necessary to implement the following measures.

2.1 Lateral soil erosion

 Removal of soil-vegetative layer to separated areas and its restoration upon completion of the construction work.  Implementation of measures to preserve inclinations in inclined areas of water pipeline laying.  Reduction of the time when the water line trenches are open.

2.2 Land and water resources pollution with chlorine

 Providing chlorine water discharge after washing and disinfecting of pipes according to PLD (Ministry of Nature Protection Order N 464, 10 December 2003, "Methodology of estimating permissible limit discharge sizes of wastewater flowing into water resources").

3. During reconstruction of DRRs and their structures, as well as boreholes, the sanitary zone contamination is added to all of the above-mentioned impacts, for preventing of which it is necessary to implement the following measures.  Exclusion of sanitary zone pollution with fuels and lubricants.  Immediate disposal of construction and household waste, construction site cleaning,  Restoration of damaged landscapes.  Soil cultivation.  Installation of sanitary zone fence at a height so that entry of small animals into the protected area is possible, preserving the biodiversity. What lessons from the previous similar projects Experience of similar previous projects shows that the have been incorporated into the project design? environmental management plan will be more clearly implemented and the implementation of measures included in the plan will be controlled better if the constructor includes it in his bill of quantities and assess the financial means necessary for their implementation.

Have concerned communities been involved and In the preparatory stage of the project the experts of the have their interests and knowledge been Consulting organization had meetings with the employees of the adequately taken into consideration in subproject Masis town municipality, as well as village administrations and preparation? the administration employees of Ayntap, Arbat, Hayanist, Azatashen, Dashtavan, Darbnik, Maramarashen villages, Masis division employees of South-West branch of the AWSC, as well as with other stakeholder organizations and individuals.

They informed them about the project, discussed the details and received positive feedback of the beneficiary communities. During the development of the preliminary design the comments and suggestions of the stakeholders have been taken into account. The project-specific EMMP developed during the PD development will be made available for town Masis and 7 rural communities’ population. For this purpose 3 public meetings in the communities (in Masis town and Ayntap and Hayanist villages) will be organized, which will be attended by beneficiaries and water users as much as possible.

The final version of the EMMP will consider the comments and additions made by the participants of the public meetings.

(D) CATEGORIZATION AND CONCLUSION

Based on the screening outcomes, project is classified as environmental Category A B C

Conclusion of the environmental screening:

1. Sub-project is declined 2. Subproject is accepted

If accepted, and based on risk assessment, subproject preparation requires:

1. Development of an Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan 2. Environmental Review, including development of an Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan

Risk Assessment of the Eligible Project

Sensitive receptors of Yes / Significant potential impact / Low potential impact / the Natural and Social No? high risk low risk Environment around a subproject site (check) (check)

Natural Habitats, Strongly transformed urban or No fragile ecosystems rural landscapes, salt marshes

Surface water bodies River Hrazdan, which has a high value for local communities and biodiversity No Irrigation and drainage systems, which have high value for local communities

Groundwater sources High groundwater table No

Valuable landscapes Strongly transformed urban or No rural landscapes, salt marshes, orchards

Physical cultural No cultural resources resources No

Human settlements 8 affected households, no Yes physical relocation needed, no land take required

Geohazards: severe Not recorded erosion, landslides, No flooding

If a project is expected to carry high risk based on any of the above criteria of assessment, it is considered a high risk project. An environmental review has to be carried out and an environmental management and monitoring plan developed;

If a project is not expected to carry high risk based on any of the above criteria of assessment, it is considered a low risk project and a development of an Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan is sufficient.