Background and Concept Paper for Investigative Monitoring

European Union Water Initiative Plus for the Eastern Partnership (EUWI+ 4 EaP) - Results 2 and 3

ENI/2016/372-403

BACKGROUND AND CONCEPT PAPER FOR INVESTIGATIVE MONITORING

Investigative Monitoring Report Armenia

Final version

Responsible EU member state consortium project leaders

Alexander Zinke; Umweltbundesamt (AT)

EUWI+ country representative in Armenia

Vahagn Tonoyan Authors

Gayane Shahnazaryan Alina Zurnachyan Vardan Qaryan Anna Zatikyan Armine Gabrielyan Vahagn Tonoyan Philipp Hohenblum Alexander Zinke Arnulf Schönbauer Daniel Trauner Kristina Schaufler Zurab Jincharadze Yannick Pochon Florence Pintus

Disclaimer:

The EU-funded program European Union Water Initiative Plus for Eastern Partnership Countries (EUWI+) is im- plemented by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD), both responsible for the implementation of Result 1, and an EU Member States Consortium comprising the Environment Agency Austria (UBA, Austria), the lead coordinator, and the In- ternational Office for Water (IOW, France), both responsible for the implementation of Results 2 and 3. The program is co-funded by Austria and France through the Austrian Development Agency and the French Artois-Picar- die Water Agency.

This document was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union or of the Governments of the Eastern Partnership Countries.

This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of, or sovereignty over, any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries, and to the name of any territory, city or area.

Imprint

Owner and Editor: EU Member State Consortium Umweltbundesamt GmbH Office International de’l Eau (IOW) Spittelauer Lände 5 21/23 rue de Madrid 1090 Vienna, Austria 75008 Paris, FRANC

Responsible IOW Communication officer: Chloé Dechelette [email protected]

May 2021

Investigative Monitoring Report Armenia

PREFACE

Scope of this document is to address the principles of the EU Water Framework Directive’s concept of investigative monitoring. Part I of the document describes the background and relevant technical details of this concept, which are of general relevance for all countries that intend to carry out this tool in line with the WFD. It describes the agreed concept and fundamentals to establish an investigative monitoring. This part, consequently, is the official basis for the national investigations and are integral part of the relevant contracts which lay down the execution of the practical investigation. Part II addresses specific national considerations, which have been identified in the course of EUWI+. They build the basis for national investigations which were carried out in autumn 2020. Thus, this document acted as a living document and shall summarize the investigative monitoring process for one EUWI+ country from the first considerations to the final conclusions. Part II was intended to be the template for reporting of national results, conclusions and lessons learnt within the practical investigation. It is integral part of the contracts and lay down the execution of the practical investigation.

Thus, Part II of this document presented a template for reporting after the survey, once the fieldwork was accomplished. The activity concludes with reflections on lessons learned.

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CONTENTS

PREFACE ...... 3 1 PART I – General Issues ...... 7 2 Scope of the Document ...... 8 3 General Terms and Definitions ,...... 9 4 General Aspects of Investigative Monitoring ...... 11 4.1 Planning and preparedness ...... 11 4.2 Suggested pool of institutions to be involved ...... 11 4.3 Design of concept for investigative monitoring within EUWI+ ...... 12 5 Planned Implementation within EUWI+ ...... 15 5.1 Break down to national requirements, Workshop and practical implementation ...... 15 5.1.1 Identification of national entities ...... 15 5.1.2 Identification of subjects for investigative monitoring ...... 15 5.1.3 Workshop ...... 15 5.1.4 Pilot exercise in EaP countries ...... 16 5.1.5 Data management, evaluation, reporting ...... 16 PART II - National chapter Armenia ...... 18 1 National questionnaire on stakeholders ...... 19 2 Rationale for an investigative monitoring exercise in Armenia ...... 20 2.1 Description of problem and determination of sites ...... 20 2.2 Pressure sources selected for the investigative monitoring ...... 23 2.3 Sampling period ...... 29 2.4 Responsibilities ...... 30 3 Methods ...... 31 3.1 Sampling and field methods ...... 31 3.2 Laboratory analyses ...... 32 3.3 Quality assurance ...... 33 4 Results ...... 34 4.1 Field protocols and data ...... 34 4.2 Chemical analyses ...... 34 4.3 Biological analyses ...... 39 5 Discussion of results ...... 41 6 Conclusions ...... 46 7 Lessons learned ...... 47 8 Annex ...... 47

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General Abbreviations ADA ...... Austrian Development Agency DoA ...... Description of Action DG NEAR ...... Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission EaP ...... Eastern Partnership EC ...... European Commission EECCA ...... Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia EMBLAS ...... Environmental Monitoring in the Black Sea EPIRB ...... Environmental Protection of International River Basins ESCS ...... Ecological Status Classification Systems EU ...... European Union EU-MS ...... EU-Member States EUWI+ ...... European Union Water Initiative Plus FD ...... Floods Directive GEF ...... Global Environmental Fund ICPDR ...... International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River IM ...... Investigative monitoring INBO ...... International Network of Basin Organisations IOWater/OIEau .... International Office for Water, France IWRM ...... Integrated Water Resources Management MSFD ...... Marine Strategy Framework Directive NESB ...... National Executive Steering Board NFP ...... National Focal Point NGOs ...... Non-Governmental Organisations NPD ...... National Policy Dialogue OECD ...... Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development RBC ...... River Basin Council RBD ...... River Basin District RBMP ...... River Basin Management Plan RBO ...... River Basin Organisation ROM ...... Result Oriented Monitoring SCM ...... Steering Committee Meeting (of the EU Action EUWI+) SEIS ...... Shared environmental information system TA ...... Technical Assistance ToR ...... Terms of References UBA ...... Umweltbundesamt GmbH, Environment Agency Austria UNDP ...... United Nations Development Programme UNECE ...... United Nations Economic Commission for Europe WISE ...... Water Information System for Europe WFD ...... Water Framework Directive

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Country Specific Abbreviations Armenia EIMC ...... The Environmental Impact Monitoring Centre HMC ...... Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Centre MNP ...... Ministry of Environment SCWS ...... State Water Committee SWCIS ...... State Water Cadastre Information System of Armenia WRMA ...... Water Resources Management Agency

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PART I – GENERAL ISSUES

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1 SCOPE OF THE DOCUMENT

Excerpt from the Logframe of EUWI+:

Sources and Base- Results chain Indicators Targets means of verifi- Assumptions line cation

2.3.5: Investigatory Number of investigatory 0 6 Investigatory Preliminary risk

monitoring of water surveys carried out (sur- survey reports assessment is bodies at risk of high face water chemistry) in for all EaP coun- successful as a pollution or related is- all EaP countries tries basis for site se- sues lection

Activities

The European Union’s Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC1) aims at the improvement and protection of all water bodies at river basin level, including inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater bodies. Harmonized monitoring programmes are required to describe uniformly the quality of the water bodies involved. According to the WFD, three different types of surface water monitoring programmes have to be established at national levels:

 Surveillance Monitoring  Operational Monitoring  Investigative Monitoring

This document aims at describing the general rationale for the type of investigative monitoring (IM) and providing general considerations on the necessary steps for implementation of an investigative monitoring. Ideally, the document can provide guidance to establish an investigative monitoring action along or back-to-back with the planned field surveys in each of the EUWI+ project countries. Before summer 2020, six webinars have been organised to bring across the concept of investigative monitoring to the six countries and to discuss details of the planned IM surveys. The national experts have been asked to submit a short concept comprising the basic idea behind the investigation, a description of the selected sites, a concept for sampling and analysis of the samples and the expected conclusions. The information received is summarised in PART II of this document in a country specific chapter. PART II will also be the template for later reporting of results, concluding and to summarize lessons learnt.

1 Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Commu- nity action in the field of water policy

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2 GENERAL TERMS AND DEFINITIONS 2,3

Monitoring is a key activity in integrated water management. There are three different principal forms of monitoring foreseen in the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (see also Figure 1 below).  Surveillance monitoring: This serves to supplement and validate impact assessment procedures for all water bodies; to enable the adequate preparation of future monitoring programmes; and to assess long-term changes in natural conditions or as a result of anthropogenic activity. Results of 12 months surveillance monitoring programmes enable the development of river basin management plans.  Operational monitoring: This serves to describe the status of water bodies which are at risk of failing their environmental objectives, to evaluate the effectiveness of measure taken or to monitor according to international obligations. Chemical and physical parameters are analysed 12 times per year, biological quality elements are checked, depending on the quality element, once to six times a year. It is suggested to run two campaigns per RBM cycle4.  Investigative monitoring is undertaken in special cases at certain rivers or river sections when o more data are needed to understand the causes for failure of environmental quality objectives. o results of the surveillance monitoring suggest a mismatch with objectives, but without having an operative site available. o the impact of accidental pollution needs to be assessed. o some more checking is needed of the impact of not yet monitored substances. o Some practical testing of new methods is advised.

2 COMMON IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY FOR THE WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE (2000/60/EC), Guidance Document No 7, Monitoring under the Water Framework Directive 3 COMMON IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY FOR THE WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE (2000/60/EC), Technical Report - 2009 – 025, Guidance Document No. 19, GUIDANCE ON SURFACE WATER CHEMICAL MONITORING UNDER THE WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE 4 EUWI+ Thematic Summary Reports for each EUWI+ country 5 https://erncip-project.jrc.ec.europa.eu/networks/tgs/water

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Figure 1: Surveillance, operational and investigative monitoring in the WFD’s six years cycle

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3 GENERAL ASPECTS OF INVESTIGATIVE MONITORING

3.1 Planning and preparedness

While surveillance and operational monitoring, as part of an integrated water management, is carried out on a pre-determined basis with well-defined sampling sites in the water bodies, defined parameters and monitoring at a certain frequency, investigative monitoring has to be carried out upon special need. Potential reasons for investigative monitoring can be:  The achievement of the good environmental status is at risk, but available data are not sufficient to determine the reason, and samples from more and different sites are needed to investigate the hypothesis why the environmental objective is likely to fail in certain river areas.  (Non-)Deliberate water contaminations, like accidents or spills, or observed fish deaths suggest a severe contamination of a water body, and investigative steps have to be taken to better identify the nature and magnitude of the incident under time critical conditions.

For this reason, investigative monitoring needs a different approach to ultimately identify a problem by addressing it in the most appropriate monitoring design. This requires some flexibility in identifying the best determinants and individual approaches, to serve the needs of each unique situation. Provident organisational planning is therefore of utmost importance. This requires organisational and responsibility structures in place among the relevant authorities and a clear communication between all entities involved, especially when it comes to time-critical conditions along an accident or any other spontaneous contamination. Preparedness of all institutions along a clear and approved concept of investigative monitoring is key to be able to react promptly and properly to situations of uncertainty, which demand a high degree of flexibility and adaptation. In a special case, continuous monitoring stations, which are used to monitor some water quality parameters for drinking water abstraction, can be built in. Involving early warning systems in investigative monitoring campaigns is mentioned here as a supportive instrument.

3.2 Suggested pool of institutions to be involved

This chapter narrows down the EU WFD concept of investigative monitoring to the framework and model application the EUWI+ project and introduces which organization should potentially be involved in investigative monitoring. In order to clarify their roles and responsibilities, it is suggested to bring them together and to discuss roles and responsibilities along a realistic scenario. In terms of water monitoring it is recommended to appoint a Point of Contact (POC) at the relevant entity (e.g. Ministerial Department) being responsible for surface water monitoring to coordinate all activities and to liaise with all other responsible authorities in case of emergencies (e.g. police, civil protection), particularly when it comes to accidental contaminations. The necessary framework for investigative monitoring could be established among the following entities, which play an important role in the national integrated water management. This is a suggested general scheme and obviously needs to be adapted to the national structures and competences in each of the six EUWI+ countries:

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 Ministerial Department responsible for the preparation of the RBMP (MDRBM); particular the entity in charge for the status assessment of water bodies and for drafting the programme of measures; they are the recipients of the monitoring results, take care of data management, the evaluation of results and deduction of measures; they need to work closely together with  Ministerial Department responsible for Surface Water Monitoring (MDSW). Definition of target of monitoring – which question has to be answered by which action; drafting of a monitoring concept which lays down individual actions and which is ideally agreed by all stakeholders. This entity could act as the Point of Contact for the investigative monitoring and take the responsibility to coordinate with all other involved entities.  River Basin Management Authority (RBMA). For the IM, this institution has the knowledge about all pressures identified in the river basin. It can help with the identification of pressures (e.g. industries emitting certain pollutants) which are not fully covered or their impact is not fully clear.  Ministerial Department for Emergency (e.g. in Ministry for the Interior). Involvement in case of an industrial/transport accident with high impact, floods or alike, depending on general national procedures. This entity has in place the procedures to assess and scope an emergency and to communicate restrictions to the affected people (Civil Protection) or affected users (e.g. drinking water utilities).  Blue light organizations. This term summarizes the police, fire fighters and ambulance ser- vices as first responders in case of accidents. Their role is to mitigate the situation and record evidence. Normally, these organizations are the first on site and thus play an essential role in communicating an unusual case to the competent and responsible authorities.  Sampling unit. This is the institution or group which carries out sampling according to well established procedures, even in emergencies; the sampling unit has a strong communication with the involved laboratory or laboratories in order to meet the requirements set for the sampling procedures.  Laboratory. Provides the analytical service ordered by the leading organization. The laboratory is in close contact with the other organizations in order to establish the procedures, which are required to achieve the information, needed (specific parameters, limits of detection etc.). The laboratory produces a report about analysed samples which is essential for the lead organisation to take decisions (e.g. impact-mitigating measures).

3.3 Design of concept for investigative monitoring within EUWI+

Once all relevant entities have been identified, a concept can be derived that clearly lays down the responsibilities of the organisations respectively. There are three conceivable scenarios with different implications on the extent of investigative monitoring:

1. Investigations to determine the reason why a water body is likely to fail the good environmental status; 2. Investigations to determine the magnitude of a spontaneous contamination caused e.g. by a transport or industrial accident or deliberate contamination; 3. Monitoring carried out by an independent entity to assess the quality of water (e.g. drinking water utility).

These three different scenarios afford a different degree of involvement of the above mentioned entities. Scenario 3 is somehow a specificity, as its data are gathered for an internal reason but could be supportive to other scenarios when it comes to early warning.

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Above the different degrees of collaboration that is needed in these three scenarios, there is a pattern of interaction between the entities, which is of general importance, and validity.

Table 1: General decisions and pathways for communication to elaborate a concept for investigative monitoring  Appointment of a Point of Contact (POC) for investigative monitoring taking the overall responsibility to coordinate the monitoring activity and to establish the communication between all involved entities  By: national decision  The determination of chemical and/or biological parameters that have to be analysed.  By: MDRBM, RBMA and/or MDSW  The determination of sites to be sampled and monitored  By: MDRBM, RBMA and/or MDSW  It can consist of existing sites for surveillance of operational monitoring, in case further information is needed . But it may need also additional sites for better determining the magnitude of contamination  Downstream of potential polluters, maybe with reference upstream of a suspected emission point  The determination of pre-requisites for sampling  By: Communication between laboratory, sampling unit and POC  Choice of appropriate sampling and transport containers for each parameter  Stabilization of samples on site and by which means for all parameters  Specification of sample filtration/treatment on site, for all parameters  Specification of the transport conditions  Determination of the sampling procedure (spot, mix by volume/time etc.) to best re- spond to the problem  By: Communication between laboratory, sampling unit and POC  Definition of necessary and feasible quality parameters as a requirement for the analysis  By: Communication between laboratory, sampling unit and POC  determination of LOD/LOQ for all parameters  definition of (a) standard method(s) for all parameters  Determination of an adequate time for delivery of results  By: laboratories and POC  Delivery of results to the responsible entity (POC)  Assessment of results, deduction of needed measures  MDRBM, MDE, RBMA and/or MDSW with support of laboratory

1. Investigative monitoring triggered by water body at risk

This may be needed, if data from surveillance and operative monitoring suggest that a water body is at risk failing the good environmental status, or if the available set of data is not sufficient to explain why the good status cannot be reached. The assessment of pressures might give an indication of potential emissions, which have not yet been monitored, or the network of sampling sites might not be suitable to deduct conclusions. In this case, a strong collaboration between the RBMA and the MDSW is needed to identify whether further parameters have to be measured or additional measuring sites have to be investigated. A clear exchange with the sampling unit and the laboratory is needed; the concept follows more or less the general decision and communication pathways, as laid down in Table 1.

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2. Investigative monitoring triggered by accidental contamination/emergency

Contaminations as a result of emergencies (accidents) are mostly time-critical events and need a thorough organizational preparedness to be tackled promptly and without delay. Apart from recording evidence of an event, samples and analyses are needed to assess the potential impact on the environment, to take appropriate measures to prevent subsequent damages (e.g. for the drinking water supply) and to mitigate the impact situation. Police and fire fighters are mostly the first to be on site as first responders. Depending on the magnitude of contamination, several additional steps have to be taken to investigate the situation and to clarify the impact on the water body and connected uses (e.g. irrigation, recreation). Therefore, the roles and responsibilities should be clear to all entities involved and, ideally, first responders can alert directly the POC at the responsible water authority to enable the chain of action and start with preparing investigations. Relevant information from the field should be delivered to the Point of Contact who then can decide to rapidly send a sampling unit to the site to take samples and to initiate investigations and laboratory analyses.

3. Continuous water quality monitoring

Investigative monitoring might also include alarming or early warning monitoring. In particular, this summarizes monitoring of water bodies close to an abstraction point for drinking water by continuous or semi-continuous monitoring, e.g. by measuring chemical parameters like conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity or alike, or biological parameters like fish toxicity. Mostly, continuous water quality monitoring is applied by drinking water utilities to monitor the abnormalities in the composition of the water. Data can be used to feed early warning systems that support taking decisions. Data are normally not promptly available to authorities, as their use for reporting is limited. However, in case of emergencies, this kind of monitoring can assist drinking water suppliers in taking decisions to prevent contamination of the supply system. In case sensors are installed at the point of abstraction from the raw water source, data can help to monitor the status of the water. Involving early warning systems in investigative monitoring campaigns is mentioned here as a supportive instrument.

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4 PLANNED IMPLEMENTATION WITHIN EUWI+

In order to establish a scheme for investigative monitoring in each EUWI+ country, this chapter deals with the necessary pre-requisites that have to be prepared in the countries and which should end up in a workshop to explain how to deal with the concept and to initiate small investigative surveys to test its practical application.

4.1 Break down to national requirements, Workshop and practical implementation

EUWI+ provides an opportunity to introduce and practically test a case of investigative monitoring, and to use the gained experience for responsible water management institutions to conclude subsequent steps of preparedness for future investigative monitoring situations, when swift and clear action by Gov- ernment institutions is needed. The piloting EUWI+ activity will be targeting investigative monitoring triggered at a water body at risk. This will include the available knowledge on pressures in the river basins and information from previous monitoring activities (surveillance monitoring, see chapter 2).

4.1.1 Identification of national entities

For each EUWI+ country it is suggested to identify all entities, which are relevant along the scenario described in Table 1 and to check whether there are additional authorities or institutions to be involved. As a template, Table 2 can be used to compile the relevant national entities. EUWI+ country representatives will support this step with their specific knowledge on the institutions. In the national tables in chapter 5, all relevant data should be completed by the end of May 2020. Responders are invited to amend with the right names of entities or add relevant ones in the table.

4.1.2 Identification of subjects for investigative monitoring

In a second step, specificities in the countries will be identified, which suggest the framework for an investigative monitoring. This can build on the results of former surveys or on the results of the risk assessment carried out in the course of elaborating the river basin management plans. Relevant information should be collected and compiled accordingly, initiated by the country representatives, by the national water management institution (MDSW or RBMD) which will be refined and rendered more pre- cisely by the EUWI+ team (RBMP planning). The result will be a short national chapter of this document, which expands from the general concept to a national chapter for investigative monitoring, containing the relevant institutions, contacts and technical specificities. It is targeted for June 2020.

4.1.3 Workshop

As a third step, a workshop will be held with the countries to bring together all identified entities and key persons (tentatively 3 participants per country, eg. POC, water agency and laboratory) and to discuss the national concept for investigative monitoring. The result will be a concrete step-by-step plan for a pilot investigative monitoring exercise, confirming the institutions and persons to be involved and responsible, the location of sampling, the parameters to be analysed and the overall timeline up to deliv- ering the monitoring report to the MDRBM. As a consequence of the Covid19 lock-down, the workshops will be conducted in July 2020 in a web-based setting.

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4.1.4 Pilot exercise in EaP countries

As soon as the CoVid-19 situations allows and the timing fits to other EUWI+ calendars, a pilot investigative monitoring will take place: It starts with the field action when, at a pre-selected water body with a certain pollution risk issue, national experts take water samples, send them to the pre-selected laboratory for the analyses. The resulting report of the laboratory will then be sent to the MDRBM and other institutions involved in the monitoring conclusions (e.g. MDE, RBMA and/or MDSW).

4.1.5 Data management, evaluation, reporting

The results of the nationally tested investigative monitoring will be documented in an IM report which will include  the overall IM concept (basically the first part of this document),  the report from the workshop (country-specific IM plan) and  the results of the national IM exercise with o sampling and laboratory results and their primary interpretation o lessons learned and o any suitable follow-up action, as deemed necessary.

Depending on the country-specific institutional situation, which determines at which institution the ex- pertise for the IM interpretation is available, the report will be prepared by the MDRBM, MDSW and /or RBMA under the supervision of the EUWI+ team.

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Table 2: General template for specifying national authorities, entities and experts for establishing the framework for investigative monitoring in the EUWI+ countries. All designations are indicative and shall be adopted or replaced by the authentic descriptions in the relevant national chapters.

Entity (in case of Function/respon- Contact, please Remark additional entities, sibilities complete infor- please add below) mation

Ministerial Depart- ment responsible for the preparation of the RBMP Ministerial Depart- ment for Surface Water Monitoring Environment Monitoring De- Agency partment

River Basin Man- To be multiplied agement Authority for additional RB

Ministry for Emer- Emergency coor- gency dinator

Police Contact person for emergency coordination Fire fighters Contact person for emergency coordination Sampling Unit for Responsible per- surface water son for surface sampling water sampling Laboratory Head of lab

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PART II - NATIONAL CHAPTER ARMENIA

This chapter contains all relevant information, which has been disclosed by the implementing national organisations and institutions. The first part contains the first country feedback, which comprises an appraisal of stakeholders and the summary of the intended investigative monitoring, as received from the country representatives. Break down of national specificities. Please share in your national chapter (tables) all relevant organisational information needed. The templates for specifying national authorities, entities and experts for establishing the framework for investigative monitoring in the EUWI+ countries are provided for each country. All designations are indicative and shall be adopted or replaced by the authentic descriptions in the relevant national chapters. Any additional information deemed relevant for the process (potential river basins, contami- nants, information from status assessment etc.) as well as other national institutions or stakeholders to be involved is highly appreciated!

18 ENI/2016/372-403 Investigative Monitoring Report Armenia 1 NATIONAL QUESTIONNAIRE ON STAKEHOLDERS

This chapter describes the organizational landscape for Armenia. Please add the relevant information in the table below as precise as possible.

Table 3: National authorities, entities and experts for establishing the framework for investigative monitoring in Armenia (Sept. 2020).

Entity (in case of additional entities, please add be- Function/responsibilities Contact, please complete information/ name, function, Remark low) email address Ministry of Environment Basin Planning Management Division of the Water River Basin Planning Man- Chief Specialist, Nazik Jzmachyan Resources Management Agency of the Ministry of agement E-mail: Environment Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center SNCO, Ministry of Environment Hydrology service Hydrological and hydromor- Head of Service: Edgar Misakyan, To be multi- phological monitoring E-mail: [email protected] plied for additional RB Surface water quality service (Including Labora- Laboratory analysis of water Head of service Alina Zurnachyan, tory) quality E-mail: [email protected] Department of surface water quality field survey Field survey and sampling Head of Department, Tigran Araqelyan, and Sampling of surface water E-mail: [email protected] Hydrobiological monitoring department Hydrobiological monitoring Head of Department, Qaryan Vardan E-mail: [email protected]

If there is any relevant information or if there are already considerations about potential investigative monitoring activities (specific river basin, pressures, contaminations), please add here:

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2 RATIONALE FOR AN INVESTIGATIVE MONITORING EXERCISE IN ARMENIA

Within the project “European Union Water Initiative Plus for the Eastern Partnership (EUWI+ 4EaP) an investigative monitoring (IM) survey was carried out under the service agreement number- AVH 10839- AM-HMC-2. In particular, the service comprised the scoping of the issue to be investigated, the stakeholders to be involved in the monitoring, the identification of rele-vant water bodies, drafting of a rationale for the survey, planning of 15 sampling sites in the area and its practical implementation according to the EUWI+ Manual on Surface Water Surveys (EUWI+, 2019). The fieldwork included completing of field protocols and water sampling. The HMC laboratory in Yerevan conducted the chemical analysis (heavy metals and on-site parameters), reported the results and elaborated of an overall IM report including a description of activities, results of the entire IM process, conclusions and lessons learnt. In line with the IM concept, substantial communication was expected with other stakeholders identified in the inception phase of the survey.

The overall objective of the investigative monitoring was to plan and carry out a survey according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Armenia, which complied with the concept disseminated during specific webinars in June/July 2020. The objective of the survey, which was carried out in September 2020, was to form a sound methodo- logical basis for future monitoring programs as essential part of river basin management planning. The scope was to  Identify a problem by addressing it in the most appropriate monitoring design  Provide data for the evaluation of the water body;  Provide data for the evaluation of the monitoring design in preparation of further surveys;  Provide data for the pressure-impact assessment in order to evaluate existing assessment methods or develop new ones;  Create a data base for the upcoming risk, status and trend assessment  Practice inter-institutional collaboration

2.1 Description of problem and determination of sites

For the investigative monitoring, 15 sampling sites at 10 rivers were proposed. 12 sampling sites were located in the Debed RBD, and 3 sampling sites in the Hrazdan RBD. The list of sampling sites is presented in the Table 1. Site names, numbers and geographical coordinates are provided in Table 4 and Figure 2.

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Table 4. Characterization of the sampling sites with geographical coordinates Site Basin River name Site name Latitude Lon- No. gitude SW-01 Debed Tandzut Antarashen village 40°45'23.2 44°37'24.2 SW-02 Debed Tandzut Below Vanadzor town (Sha- 40°46'59.5 44°32'17.8 humyan), after mixing with Garpi tributary SW-03 Debed Katnaghbyur Armanis village 41°00'36.6 44°21'28.2 SW-04 Debed Dzoraget Below Stepanavan town, after 41°1'29.8 44°21'58.9 mixing Katnaghbyur River SW-05 Debed Katnaghbyur Urasar village 41°00'49.6 44°17'41.6 SW-06 Debed Nahatak Mets Ayrum village, under the Na- 41°09'55.0 44°50'14.6 hatak Tailing Dump SW-07 Debed Debed After mixing with Nahatak River, 41°10'42 44°51'37.2 before Karkop village SW-08 Debed Nahatak Up to the Mets Ayrum village 41°10'43.1" 44°48'39.5" (Chochkan) SW-09 Debed Lalvar River mouth 41°05'56.9 44°39'28.9 SW-10 Debed Debed Alaverdi town, after mixing with 41°05'56.5 44°39'40.5 Lalvar River SW-11 Debed Hagvi Hagvi village 41°04'17.8 44°35'31.7 SW-12 Debed Sedvi Alaverdi town, after mixing Hagvi 41°04'51.9 44°36'49.9 tributary to the Sedvi River SW-13 Hrazdan Meghradzor Meghradzor village, after the 40°36'15.1 44°39'21.3 mine SW-14 Hrazdan Marmarik After mixing Meghradzor River, 40°34'29.0 44°41'02.2 below Marmarik village SW-15 Hrazdan Meghradzor Meghradzor village, before the 40°37'16.4 44°40'10.9 mine

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Figure 2. Map of Sampling Sites

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2.2 Pressure sources selected for the investigative monitoring

Tandzut River near the village Antarashen. This site is impacted by an abandoned dumpsite of Tan- dzut Sulphur-Pyrite mine. The Tandzut mine is located 14 km out of the town of Vanadzor, on the northern slope of the Pambak mountain range, upstream the Tadznut River. The dumpsite was generated as a result of a geological study and exploitation works of Tandzut sulphur-pyrite (kolchedana) mine. There are three separate areas of dumpsites in the Tandzut precinct (in sum 3 ha, 80,000 m3). The Tandzut sulphur-pyrite mine was discovered in the late 19th century. During that period, the mine was exploited in an open way, a large amount of sulphur-pyrite ore was extracted from the richest places. A small concentrator was built at the mine. The ruins of the concentrator and auxiliary structures are currently preserved and in 1933- 1951, the Tandzut mine was conserved. Afterwards, several exploration works have been done and more than 4,000 m3 of surface mountain excavations were made. At present, the Tandzut pyrite mine is not an object of right use. Mineral waste accumulated in the area is considered ownerless / abandoned and rain and snow waters penetrate into the waste through cracks, mobilising the compounds of sulphur and heavy metals and flowing into the Tandzut River.

Considering results of a previous study6, in this site heavy metals such as Zn, Cu, Cr, Co, As, and sulphate ion, pH, EC should be analysed.

Katnaghbjur River- v. Armanis. This site is impacted by the Armanis Polymetallic Mine and Mining- Processing Plant. The Armanis polymetallic mine is located in the Lori region, around the town of Stepanavan, in the basin of the Katnaghbyur (Chknagh) river. It was exploited in 1967-1985. The mineral consists mainly of sphalerite, chalcopyrite, pyrite, galena and hematite minerals. There is natural gold (in quartz veins), silver, quartz, gypsum, carbonates and bis- muth compounds. The mine has been operating since 1998 in an open way and was suspended in 2015. The final products were copper concentrate, lead concentrate and zinc concentrate. The mine has not been operated since 2016, but the remnants continue polluting the environment. According to the study done by the Blacksmith Institute (The Toxic Site Identification Program of Pure Earth) in Armanis Schoolyard7, soil samples contain up to 54 ppm of lead, 21.2 ppm of arsenic and 91.3 ppm of chromium. In river waters, 1.4 ppm of lead, 0.5 ppm of arsenic, 0.3 ppm of chromium and up to 0.6 ppm of cadmium were detected. According to another study in soil samples taken from Armanis community, up to 6,780 ppm of lead, up to 682 ppm of arsenic and up to 380 ppm of total chromium were detected. Considering these studies, sulphate and heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Au, Ag, Cd, Se) should be analysed.

Nahatak (Chochkan) river- This site is impacted by the Nahatak tailing dam The "Nahatak" (Martyr) tailing dam belonging to "Akhtala LHC" CJSC is located between the Mets Ayrum and Chochkan settlements administrative territory, in the Nahatak gorge. The excavation material of the Akhtala ore processing plant have been stored at the Nahatak tailing dam since 1967. The area to be reclaimed from the tailings dam, including the slope of the dam, is 17.83 hectares.

6 http://mnp.am/uploads/1/1561026142HASHVETVUTYUN_Geraka_kayq.pdf 7 https://crm.aua.am/files/2016/12/Schools-and-Kindergartens-in-Armanis_Final-Report-Eng-Dec-2-2016.pdf

23 Investigative Monitoring Report Armenia

According to the strategic assessment of the mining sector, the "Nahatak" tailing dam was considered one of the riskiest tailing dams in Armenia8. Due to the presence of non-acid drainage (NAD) production materials, the tailings can have an impact on the environment in the medium to long term," the study states. According to the monitoring data of HMC, up to 30.2 ppm of lead, up to 61.9 ppm of arsenic, up to 81.3 ppm of chromium and up to 0.11 ppm of mercury were detected in the soils. In river water 0.36 ppm of lead, 1.89 ppm of arsenic, 2.8 ppm of chromium and up to 0.9 ppm of cadmium was measured. At this site, arsenic, copper, lead, chromium, cadmium, zinc and other heavy metals as well as sulphate, EC and pH should be measured.

Lalvar river (Alaverdi – Madan)-Lalvar, a river in the Lori region of Armenia, the left tributary of the Debed. It starts from the slope of Lalvar mountain and merges with the Debed river in Alaverdi city. The length is 10 km. There are several possible sources of pressure on this river: The excavation waste of Madan (Alaverdi). Madan is a district of Alaverdi city lying 5 km outside the centre. It was founded in 1752 as a settlement of Greek miners. Due to mining and processing, operation, overburden and waste rock from the underground metal mine was dumped in this area over a long time. Nowadays the mine is not operating. The excavation waste of Madan (Alaverdi) site has been formed as a result of more than 250 years of geological exploration and exploitation of the Alaverdi copper mine. At the present, the mine is not an object of excavation activities. Mineral waste accumulated in the area is considered ownerless / abandoned9.The in-situ testing of residential soil samples in Madan district yielded up to 2,500 ppm of lead, up to 400 ppm of arsenic and up to 320 ppm of total chromium. "Arsenic graveyard" Back in the early 1980s, the arsenic waste from the Alaverdi Mining and Metallurgical Plant was dumped into a site locally nicknamed the "Arsenic graveyard". This toxic dump, a legacy of the Soviet era, is located on the edges of the road leading to the town’s “Len-Hanker” neighbourhood, a mere one kilo- meter 1 km from the district. The site has a length of 150 meters and a width of 130 meters. In 2010, a crack has appeared in the concrete part of the graveyard. Some samples of soil were tested in the Center for Ecological-Noosphere Studies (CENS) of the National Academy of Sciences RA. The concentrations of arsenic and mercury were found to exceed the MACs 10-30 times. In case of heavy rains, the toxins can penetrate the deeper layers of the soil and appear in the drinking water resources of the town. The burial site is not fenced off to restrict access to the contaminated site. Neighbourhood live- stock, as well as people, can come and go freely. There are no signs warning of the area’s inherent danger. The in-situ testing of soil samples in the Arsenic graveyard show higher concentration ranges for arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, and chromium of 28-113,966 ppm, 32-80,951 ppm, 11-1,063 ppm, 26-667ppm, and 74-883 ppm respectively. Alaverdi Municipal Dumpsite Alaverdi is a town and municipal community in the Lori Province at the north-eastern part of Armenia. Situated at the bottom of the Debed river gorge, Alaverdi is an important commercial and industrial centre in northern Armenia. Currently, the town has an approximate population of 11,000 as per the 2016 official estimate. Alaverdi Municipal Dumpsite is located in the administrative district of Alaverdi community, on the Alaverdi-Madan route, next to the arsenic graveyard. The distance from the nearest

8 https://crm.aua.am/files/2018/05/Armenia_strategic_assessment-eng.pdf 9 https://crm.aua.am/files/2016/12/Schools-and-Kindergartens-in-Alaverdi_Final-Report-Eng-Dec-2-2016.pdf 24 ENI/2016/372-403 Investigative Monitoring Report Armenia settlement is about 2 km. The dumpsite is in operation since 2008 and belongs to Alaverdi municipality. Since the dumpsite is not fenced, it is accessible to occasional food animals. The dumpsite has no artificial basement and is composed mainly of sand and clay. The approximate size of the dumpsite is 0.95 ha with an average height of 0.8 m (ranging from 0.5-3 m). Predominantly, household waste is composed of at this site (paper, glass, rags, food waste, food packaging, etc.), industrial waste (metal scrap, leather, cloth, plastic, etc.) and construction waste (brick, boards, cement, metal structures, etc.). There is no regular monitoring. An in-situ testing of soil samples in the dumpsite was performed by The Toxic Site Identification Program (TSIP) of Pure Earth, formerly known as the Blacksmith Institute by means of an XRF analyser in March 2019. In total, 29 soil samples were tested. Up to 3,450 ppm of lead, up to 440 ppm of arsenic and up to 260 ppm of total chromium were detected in their survey. Two Abandoned Copper Mine overburden near Alaverdi town. The Alaverdi Copper Mine has been one of the main sites for copper mining in Armenia but also for lead, zinc, silver and gold. In the 18th century, copper was moulded on the spot in a simple way, but since the 19th - 20th centuries, it has been imported mainly. On the border, in the Alaverdi, a "Manes" copper smelter was built, which was upgraded, expanded and functioned until 1989. It has been re- launched in 1997 by "Manes and Vallex" Company (since 2001, by Armenian Copper Program). Back in the beginning of the operation of the Alaverdi multi-metal mines, excess excavation material was discharged directly near the mine entrances. This adit was operative until the collapse of the Soviet Union (1989). In 1997, it was re-launched by "Manes and Vallex" Company, and from since 2001 to 2010 (officially to 2008) it has been exploited by the "Armenian Copper Program". In 2010, it was out- sourced from the "Armenian Copper Program" balance and included in the Alaverdi's municipal balance sheet. The excavation material deposit at this place is located in the administrative district of Alaverdi community, at the road of Madan village, about 1 km north from Alaverdi Copper Smelter, It occupies an area of 0.7 ha. The distance from the nearest settlement is about 1 km. It is located directly in the neighbourhood of Lalvar river (mountain stream). The area is accessible to occasional entrance of animals. It reaches the river and has a constant impact on the river. The disposal site has no artificial basement and is composed mainly from sand and clay. There are no signs of warning of the area’s inherent danger. An in-situ testing of soil samples was performed by The Toxic Site Identification Program (TSIP) of Pure Earth, formerly known as the Blacksmith Institute by XRF analyzer in June 2019. In total, 25 soil samples from surface layer were performed. In the soil samples, the concentration ranges for arsenic, lead and chromium were 16-442 ppm, 10-641 ppm and 152-1034 ppm, respectively. Back in the beginning of the operation of Alaverdi multi-metal mines overburden was filled out directly near the mine entrances and one of the mines near the adit №5. This adit has been working until the collapse of the Soviet Union (1989). Since 1997 it has been re-launched by "Manes and Vallex" Com- pany, since 2001 the entrance has been used as a warehouse by "Armenian Copper Program". In 2010 it came out to the "Armenian Copper Program" balance and included in Alaverdi's municipal balance sheet. Mine Overburden at adit №5 near the Alaverdi town is located in the administrative district of Alaverdi community, in the road of Madan village, about 0.5 km north from Alaverdi Copper Smelter, occupies 1.8 ha. The distance from the nearest settlement is about 0.5 km. It is located directly in front of mine entrance with nameplate "adit №5" and on the other hand bordered with Lalvar river (mountain stream). There are segments of old fencing, but it is accessible to the occasional entrance of animals. It reaches the river and has a constant impact on the river. The overburden has no artificial foundation and is composed mainly from sand and clay. On the bank of the river there are some parts of the old barrier. There are no signs warning of the area’s inherent danger. The in-situ testing of soil samples in overburden was done by The Toxic Site Identification Program (TSIP) of Pure Earth, formerly known as the Blacksmith Institute by XRF analyzer on June 2019. In total, 31 surface samples were analyzed. In soil samples, the concentration ranges for arsenic and lead was 17-1,417 ppm, 10-1,554 ppm respectively.

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Alaverdi Copper Smelter The Alaverdi community was established as a centre of the copper plant and over the past 2.5 centuries. It has served as the industrial centre of the country. Copper is extracted from ores by different chemical, physical, and electrochemical processes. The process of copper smelting can produce and emit by products such as lead, arsenic, zinc, cadmium, sulphur dioxide and other toxic substances. The copper smelter is no longer operating. The largest polymetallic smelter is located in Alaverdi. Operating in low capacity from 1990 to 2000, in 2001 it started functioning in its full capacity. In 1999 only 535 tonnes of copper were produced, while in 2001 the volume of production was 4,955 tonnes (Nazaryan G, 2009). The study analyzing heavy metals in residential soil and dust in Alaverdi showed that in 2001 the lead levels in 44% of the yard soil and in 77% of exterior loose dust samples exceeded the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) standard of 400 mg/kg. Arsenic levels exceeded 50% of yard soil and 70% of loose dust samples exceeded the remediation level of 80 mg/kg (Petrosyan et al., 2004). According to the 2011 census, the population of the town is 13,343, down from 26,300 reported in 1989. Currently, the town has an approximate population of 11,000 as per the 2016 official estimate. The in-situ testing of residential soil samples in Alaverdi community was performed by The Toxic Site Identification Program (TSIP) of Pure Earth, formerly known as the Blacksmith Institute by an XRF analyzer on June 30, 2019. In total, 98 soil samples were tested. The soil was mainly polluted by lead up to 1,260 ppm, arsenic up to 780 ppm and chromium up to 2,160 ppm. The research study was carried out in the Debed River Basin, with different programs from 2012 to 2016, and one of the sampling sites was the Lalvar River estuary. As a result of hydrobiological research, no macroinvertebrates have been found from this sampling site, so the environmental assessment according to the Water Framework Directive has been "Bad".

Sedvi River / Hagvi precinct The Hagvi mine site is located on the left bank of the Hagvi River (a tributary of the Sedvi River), 1.5 km north of Hagvi village. The reserves of the Hagvi mine were confirmed in 1941 (483,600 tons of ore and 5,094 tons of copper) and 1961 (balance reserves: 292,300 tons of ore and 1,710 tons of copper, off-balance sheet reserves: 69,100 tons of ore and 360 tons of copper). Exploration works were carried out by "ACP" LLC in 1991- 2000, according to the environmental impact assessment of the works to be carried out in Hagvi and Mghart mines in 2010-2012. According to preliminary estimates of the Soviet geologists of resources, the total amount of ore in the Hagvi mine is 292,300 tons, from which 1,086 kg are gold and 7,468 kg silver. The location of excavation waste is about 1.4 km north-northwest of Hagvi village. Overburden were generated as a result of surface and underground mountain excavations at the Hagvi copper mine. The Hagvi copper mine is located 3-4 km from Sanahin railway station, 8-9 km west of the Alaverdi copper smelter. As of April 1, 2018, the Hagvi copper mine is not a legal object of excavation anymore. Mineral waste accumulated in the area is considered ownerless / abandoned.

Meghradzor river Rich gold reserves have been discovered in the village of Meghradzor, in the Pambak mountain range. A closed gold mine was built and put into operation in the 19th century. Meghradzor gold mine, a mine in the Kotayk region of Armenia, is located in the middle basin of the Marmarik River. The industrial resources are mainly on the left bank of the river. Lower Paleozoic shales, Middle Eocene volcanic formations build the geological structure. About 30 quartz-gold veins and vein belts have been found in the northeast. The mineral consists mainly of pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, tellurides minerals,

26 ENI/2016/372-403 Investigative Monitoring Report Armenia natural gold, silver and a number of sulphides. Mineral reserves are about 600,000 tons (the average gold content is 13 g / t). The processed ore of Meghradzor mine contains: Au 80-150 g / t, Ag 200-300 g / t, S 3.0%, Zn 0.3%, Сu 0.12%, Fe 4.0%, Pb 0.3%. The nearest settlement is Meghradzor village, about 0.5 km away from the mine. Meghradzor is located in a seismically active zone. According to the Seismic Construction Design Norms operating in the Re- public of Armenia, the area of design norms is in the 2nd zone (up to 8-9 points). The mine has been exploited since 1986 and was closed in 1997. In 2002, the Meghradzor mine was acquired by the former Ararat Gold Mining Company, but in practice the Meghradzor mine has been conserved for many years. The current Meghradzor gold mine is owned by the "Meghradzor Gold" LLC, which restored the mine facilities and infrastructure and resumed operation. The extracted ore is transported by rail under contract to the Ararat Enrichment Plant (ARF) for processing. The area provided by the mountain allocation act is 569.07 hectares. The nearest watercourse to the area is the Meghradzor River. Meghradzor is the largest tributary of the Marmarik River. It starts from the southern slopes of the Pambak mountain range, at an altitude of 2,820 m. The length is 14.7 km, the catchment area is 114 km2. River water is fed by mixed meltwater, rain- water and groundwater. The average annual discharge is 1.67 m3/s. Water is mainly used for irrigation. A monthly sampling of the Meghradzor River water has been carried out for several years in the riv- erbeds above the square of the administrative building of the mine and approx. 500 m downstream.

27 Draft Technical Report

Table 5. Proposed sampling sites for the investigative monitoring in Armenia within the EUWI+ project

No. River RBD Site location Pressure type Target of investigation SW-01 Tandzut Debed v. Antarashen Mining - abandoned dumpsite of Tandzut To investigate abandoned dumpsite pressure on the Sulphur-pyrite mine river SW-02 Tandzut Debed Before Vanadzor city (Sha- Mining -Abandoned dumpsite of Tandzut The Tandzut River joins the Pambak River after the city humyan microdistrict), After Sulphur-pyrite mine of Vanadzor, where the pressure of the city on the river mixing with the Garpi tributary is very high. In order to correctly assess the impact of the Tandzut site overburden, it is expedient to carry out monitoring below the confluence point with the Garpi tributary of the Tandzut River. SW-03 Katnaghbjur Debed v. Armanis Mining -Armanis Polymetallic Mine and Min- To investigate Polymetallic Mine and Mining-Processing ing-Processing Plant Plant pressure on to the river Katnaghbjur SW-04 Dzoraget Debed Below Stepanavan town, after Mining -Armanis Polymetallic Mine and Min- To investigate Polymetallic Mine and Mining-Processing mixing Katnaghbyur River ing-Processing Plant Plant pressure on to the river Dzoraget from the side of Katnaghbjur tributary SW-05 Katnaghbjur Debed v. Urasar, Up to mining site reference _ SW-06 Nahatak Debed v. Mets Ayrum, Under the Na- Nahatak tail, copper-polymetallic mining To investigate Polymetallic Mine and Mining-Processing (Chochkan) hatak tail dump Plant tail pressure on to the river Nahatak (Chochkan) SW-07 Debed Debed Befor v. Karkop, after mixing Nahatak tail, copper-polymetallic mining To investigate Polymetallic Mine and Mining-Processing with the Nahatak River Plant tail pressure on to the river Debed from the side of Nahatak (Chochkan) tributary SW-08 Nahatak Debed Up to the Mets Ayrum village reference _ (Chochkan) SW-09 Lalvar Debed mouth  Mining, Alaverdi Copper Smelter To investigate heavy metals and sulphate to the River and Arsenic graveyard Lalvar SW-10 Debed Debed Alaverdi city, after mixing with Mining, Alaverdi Copper Smelter To investigate heavy metals and sulphate to the River the Lalvar River and Arsenic graveyard Debed from the side of Lalvar tributary SW-11 Hagvi River Debed v. Hagvi  Hagvi copper mine To investigate heavy metals and sulphate to the River Hagvi (Sedvi) SW-12 Sedvi Debed Alaverdi town, after mixing Hagvi copper mine To investigate heavy metals and sulphate to the River Hagvi tributary to the Sedvi Sedvi River SW-13 Meghradzor Hrazdan Meghradzor village, after the Meghradzor gold mine To investigate heavy metals and sulphate to the River mine Meghradzor SW-14 Marmarik Hrazdan After mixing Meghradzor Meghradzor gold mine To investigate heavy metals and sulphate to the River River, below Marmarik village Marmarik from the side of Meghradzor tributary SW-15 Meghradzor Hrazdan Meghradzor village, before the reference _ mine

28 Draft Technical Report

2.3 Sampling period

The sampling was carried out from 12-15 October 2020. Table 6. Sampling dates and information on meteorological and hydrological conditions River Date Site No. Sampling team Meteorology Hydrology Tandzut 13.10.2020 SW-01 T. Araqelyan, H. Sunny enough Minasyan, V. water Karyan Tandzut 13.10.2020 SW-02 T. Araqelyan, H. Sunny enough Minasyan, V. water Karyan Katnaghbyur 15.10.2020 SW-03 T. Araqelyan, H. Sunny enough Minasyan, V. water Karyan Dzoraget 15.10.2020 SW-04 T. Araqelyan, H. Sunny enough Minasyan, V. water Karyan Katnaghbyur 15.10.2020 SW-05 T. Araqelyan, H. Sunny enough Minasyan, V. water Karyan Nahatak 14.10.2020 SW-06 T. Araqelyan, H. Sunny enough Minasyan, V. water Karyan Debed 14.10.2020 SW-07 T. Araqelyan, H. Sunny enough Minasyan, V. water Karyan Nahatak 14.10.2020 SW-08 T. Araqelyan, H. Sunny No water (Chochkan) Minasyan, V. Karyan Lalvar 13.10.2020 SW-09 T. Araqelyan, H. Sunny enough Minasyan, V. water Karyan Debed 13.10.2020 SW-10 T. Araqelyan, H. Sunny enough Minasyan, V. water Karyan Hagvi 14.10.2020 SW-11 T. Araqelyan, H. Sunny enough Minasyan, V water Karyan Sedvi 14.10.2020 SW-12 T. Araqelyan, H. Sunny enough Minasyan, V water Karyan Meghradzor 12.10.2020 SW-13 T. Araqelyan, H. Sunny enough Minasyan, V. water Karyan Marmarik 12.10.2020 SW-14 T. Araqelyan, H. Sunny enough Minasyan, V water Karyan Meghradzor 12.10.2020 SW-15 T. Araqelyan, H. Sunny enough Minasyan, V. water Karyan

29 Investigative Monitoring Report Armenia

2.4 Responsibilities

For the proper work each part of the survey has its own responsible person. The assignments of the responsible persons are summarized in Table 7. Table 7 Responsible institutions and persons in preparation and during the survey. Responsibilities Institution, contact person, email-address General Responsible for the Institute: "Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center" SNCO, Ministry of organization of sur- Environment face water body Contact person: Alina Zurnachyan (Head of Water Quality Monitoring sampling Service) E-Mail: [email protected] Field work Responsible for Institute: "Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center" SNCO, Ministry of field work (biologi- Environment cal and chemical Contact person: Tigran Araqelyan (Head of field survey department) sampling) E-Mail: [email protected] Responsible for Institute: "Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center" SNCO, Ministry of functional check of Environment sampling equip- Contact person: Vardan Karyan ment E-Mail: [email protected] Responsible for Institute: "Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center" SNCO, Ministry of calibration of on- Environment site measuring Contact person: Tigran Araqelyan equipment E-Mail: [email protected] Chemical analysis Overall responsible Institute: "Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center" SNCO for the chemical Contact person: Gayane Shahnazaryan (Deputy Director) analysis in the lab, E-Mail: [email protected] including reporting and data delivery Responsible for Institute: "Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center" SNCO, Ministry of sample transport Environment from the field to the Contact person: Tigran Araqelyan laboratory E-Mail: [email protected] Analyzing labora- Institute: "Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center" SNCO, Ministry of tory and contact Environment person Contact person: Alina Zurnachyan (Head of Water Quality Monitoring Service) E-Mail: [email protected]

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3 METHODS

3.1 Sampling and field methods

The sampling was done at 14 sampling sites of Debed and Hrazdan RBDs. The sample at sampling site 8 could not be taken due to very little water in the River Nahatak. The dates and time of the transport of the field survey were coordinated with the experts responsible for the sampling. The total field survey took about four days. The sampling was done by the field team (presented in Table 4). The field protocols were completed by the sampling team for each sampling site. The protocols include detailed information about the river basin, name and type, site number and geographical coordinates, sampling date and time, weather and the results of water quality field parameters, name of the surveyor with signature and additional comments. The photo documentation per site has been elaborated which gives a general overview of the river at the sampling site and allows evaluating the meteorological and hydrological conditions, details of substrate, anthropogenic impacts etc. In the field, the water samples were not filtered. For ammonium ions, the water samples were stabilized with sulphuric acid (H2SO4), for nitrite ions with chloroform (CHCl3) and for heavy metals with nitric acid (HNO3). The surface water samples were transported to the HMC laboratory for the further processing and analysis in boxes with dry ice to keep samples cool. Samples were delivered on the same day/within 3 hours. The handover was documented by using “Protocol for the delivery and handover of samples”.

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3.2 Laboratory analyses

The HMC laboratory analysed 40 physico-chemical parameters (see Table 8) from each of the 14 sampling sites. The field team handed over the data to the chemical laboratory staff and were included in the test report. The physico-chemical parameters were measured according to the appropriate ISO standard methods. Table 8. List of Parameters analysed in the field and in the laboratory Parameter Unit LOD LOQ Standards Field measurements Water temperature (WT) °C Oxygen concentration (DO) mg/L ISO 5814:2012

Oxygen saturation (O2-Sat) % ISO 10523: pH - ISO 10523:2008 Electric conductivity (EC in the glossary, µS/cm ISO 7888:1985 EC is European Commission ;-)) Laboratory analyses Water temperature (WT, lab control) °C Oxygen concentration (DO, lab control) mg/L ISO 5814:2012

Oxygen saturation (O2-Sat, lab control) % ISO 5814:2012 pH (lab control) - ISO 10523:2008 Electric conductivity (EC, lab control) µS/cm ISO 7888:1985 Total suspended solids (TSS) mg/L ISO 11923:1997

Biological oxygen demand (BOD5) mg/L ISO 5815:2003

Chemical oxygen demand (K2Cr2O7) mg/L ISO 6060:1989 (COD)

Ammonia-N (NH4-N) mg/L 0,003 0,004 ISO 7150-1:1984

Nitrate-N (NO3-N) mg/L 0,001 0,003 ISO 10304-1:2007

Orthophosphate, as P (PO4-P) mg/L 0,003 0,005 ISO 6878:2004 Total phosphorus (TP) mg/L 0,005 0,01 ISO 17294:2016 Chloride (Cl) mg/L 0,005 0,01 ISO 10304-1:2007

Sulphate, total ion (SO4) mg/L 0,025 0,05 ISO 10304-1:2007 Calcium (Ca) mg/L 0,005 0,01 ISO 17294:2016 Magnesium (Mg) mg/L 0,005 0,01 ISO 17294:2016 Sodium (Na) mg/L 0,005 0,01 ISO 17294:2016 Potassium (K) mg/L 0,005 0,01 ISO 17294:2016 Lithium (Li) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016 Beryllium (Be) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016 Boron (B) mg/L 0,0005 0,001 ISO 17294:2016 Aluminum (Al) mg/L 0,005 0,01 ISO 17294:2016 Titanium (Ti) mg/L 0,0005 0,0010 ISO 17294:2016 Vanadium (V) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016 Chromium (Cr) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016 Iron (Fe) mg/L 0,005 0,01 ISO 17294:2016 Manganese (Mn) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016

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Cobalt (Co) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016 Nickel (Ni) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016 Copper (Cu) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016 Zink (Zn) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016 Arsenic (As) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016 Selenium (Se) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016 Strontium (Sr) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016 Molybdenum (Mo) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016 Cadmium (Cd) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016 Tin (Sn) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016 Stibium (Sb) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016 Barium (Ba) mg/L 0,005 0,01 ISO 17294:2016 Lead (Pb) mg/L 0,00005 0,0001 ISO 17294:2016

3.3 Quality assurance

All the analyses were done in a professional manner and in accordance with the standard laboratory operating procedures. The transport storage, preservation and the chemical analyses were undertaken according to the accredited laboratory procedures together with the application of internal analytical quality controls.

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4 RESULTS

4.1 Field protocols and data

The field protocols are provided as separate attachment in Annex 1 (PDF format). The photos are provided as JPG as separate files in the folder Annex 2. The surface water samples were transported to the HMC laboratory for the further processing and analysis․ The handover was documented by using “Protocol for the delivery and handover of samples” and provided as separate attachment in Annex 3 (PDF format).

4.2 Chemical analyses

The results of the physico-chemical analyses are summarized in Table 10 - Table 12 and are additionally provided in excel format as Annex 4. The reports of the laboratory are provided in Annex 5 in English.

The water quality was assessed based on the national water quality norms (Table 9). The water quality norms were defined according to the provisions of RA Government Decree №75-N “On establishing the norms for assuring water quality of each Water Basin Management District, depending upon local pe- culiarities” (27 January, 2011) and considering the “one-out-all-out-principle”. The national water quality norms for Debed and Marmarik Rivers are given in Annex 7. According to these norms, each water parameter can be classified in 5 classes based on their concentrations. Environmental quality standards (EQS) within the framework of WFD (Directive 2008/105/EC) exist only for lead, cadmium and nickel. Comparison of EQS (MAC EQS for class 5, highest concentration) with the concentrations of Cd (EQS-1.5 µg/l), Pb (EQS-14 µg/l) and Ni (EQS-34 µg/l) at the sampling sites identified the exceedances in the case of Cd at the SS-03 (Kathnaghbyur River, v. Armanis) and SS-09 (Lalvar, river mouth). Pb and Ni did not exceed these limits at any of the sites.

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Table 9: Results of the chemical analyses from 14 sampling sites in autumn 2020.

River Sampling site Site WT DO O2- pH EC SS COD BOD5 NH4-N NO3-N PO4-P TP DP Cl SO4 num. field field Sat field field field °C mg/L % µS/cm mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L Tandzut Antarashen village 1 8,5 9,88 84,4 7,8 85 1,7 5 2,22 0,1049 0,082 0,009 0,083 0,018 1,96 5,04 Tandzut Below Vanadzor town 2 11,1 9,40 85,2 7,8 199,9 15,8 10 2,37 0,1883 0,517 0,009 0,124 0,045 3,69 29,70 (Shahumyan), after mixing with Garpi tributary Katnaghbyur Armanis village 3 10,8 9,54 86,1 8,1 342,4 15,4 5 3,27 0,3211 0,417 0,005 0,059 0,013 3,24 76,79 Dzoraget Below Stepanavan town, 4 11,5 10,01 91,4 8,5 191 1,9 15 2,14 0,0577 0,728 0,014 0,112 0,065 2,76 4,00 after mixing Katnaghbyur River Katnaghbyur Urasar village 5 14,1 9,86 95,9 8,5 270,6 1,9 15 2,79 0,0353 0,284 0,005 0,054 0,019 1,70 9,99 Nahatak Mets Ayrum village, under 6 18,4 8,18 101 11,1 1447 192,9 20 3,45 1,4285 6,711 0,005 0,113 0,041 17,31 332,72 the Nahatak Tailing Dump Debed After mixing with Nahatak 7 19,2 9,81 106,4 8,5 665 2,3 25 3,06 0,1730 3,705 0,014 0,107 0,074 20,35 160,08 river, before Karkop village Lalvar River mouth 9 12,2 10,05 93,9 8,0 744 22,8 5 3,03 0,3047 0,477 0,005 0,072 0,019 7,15 307,45

Debed Alaverdi town, after mixing 10 12,3 10,17 95,2 8,1 334,2 17,4 15 2,02 0,1872 1,979 0,047 0,187 0,141 6,83 29,04 with Lalvar River Hagvi Hagvi village 11 12,2 9,57 89,2 8,3 695 4,8 30 2,2 0,0982 2,485 0,047 0,165 0,147 16,52 160,24 Sedvi Alaverdi town, after mix- 12 12,8 9,87 93,3 8,0 399,3 1,6 5 2,96 0,0566 0,841 0,005 0,080 0,053 6,84 58,09 ing Hagvi tributary to the Sedvi River Meghradzor Meghradzor village, af- 13 6,7 9,97 81,3 7,6 173,6 1,7 5 2,86 0,0469 0,130 0,005 0,068 0,046 2,51 15,70 ter the mine Marmarik After mixing Meghradzor 14 7,1 9,44 77,7 7,1 364,8 13,7 23 2,84 0,1020 0,612 0,005 0,107 0,067 28,75 14,28 River, below Marmarik village Meghradzor Meghradzor village, be- 15 7 10,62 87,6 8,1 106,5 0,8 7 2,88 0,0242 0,040 0,005 0,068 0,024 2,17 7,40 fore the mine

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Table 10: Results of the chemical analyses – continued.

River Sampling site site Ca Mg Na K Li Be B Al Ti V Cr Fe Mn num. mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L Tandzut Antarashen village 1 8,93 1,35 5,76 0,981 0,00089 <0.0001 0,01069 0,47 0,0167 0,0171 0,0051 0,9461 0,0664 Tandzut Below Vanadzor town (Sha- 2 25,24 4,13 7,58 2,074 0,00070 <0.0001 0,01719 0,40 0,0122 0,0201 0,0054 3,6603 0,0378 humyan), after mixing with Garpi tributary Katnaghbyur Armanis village 3 44,18 11,69 6,12 0,869 0,00120 0,00020 0,02991 2,61 0,0028 0,0091 0,0050 1,9587 3,4481 Dzoraget Below Stepanavan town, af- 4 28,16 5,06 5,81 1,257 0,00227 <0.0001 0,04098 0,17 0,0073 0,0133 0,0046 0,3853 0,0216 ter mixing Katnaghbyur River Katnaghbyur Urasar village 5 49,79 4,28 5,75 0,659 0,00054 <0.0001 0,02799 0,05 0,0023 0,0056 0,0055 0,2166 0,0151 Nahatak Mets Ayrum village, under 6 168,44 0,62 42,97 17,084 0,00065 <0.0001 0,13138 0,62 0,0037 0,0121 0,0053 1,8680 0,1620 the Nahatak Tailing Dump Debed After mixing with Nahatak 7 62,67 19,96 48,33 3,815 0,00188 <0.0001 0,16413 0,19 0,0050 0,0076 0,0047 0,4197 0,0303 river, before Karkop village Lalvar River mouth 9 93,39 31,85 15,97 1,744 0,00186 <0.0001 0,09432 1,58 0,0054 0,0045 0,0043 4,5197 0,3618

Debed Alaverdi town, after mixing 10 42,75 9,84 14,70 2,348 0,00208 <0.0001 0,06340 0,44 0,0100 0,0086 0,0055 0,7716 0,0789 with Lalvar River Hagvi Hagvi village 11 98,72 13,73 25,27 4,776 0,00883 <0.0001 0,08644 0,07 0,0043 0,0045 0,0071 0,2313 0,0135 Sedvi Alaverdi town, after mix- 12 55,24 11,43 18,09 1,954 0,00315 <0.0001 0,07595 0,07 0,0034 0,0059 0,0058 0,2481 0,0107 ing Hagvi tributary to the Sedvi River Meghradzor Meghradzor village, after 13 22,16 4,35 5,94 1,582 0,00093 <0.0001 0,01413 0,04 0,0031 0,0165 0,0048 0,2148 0,0279 the mine Marmarik After mixing Meghradzor 14 34,57 7,11 34,87 4,568 0,09204 <0.0001 0,41059 0,08 0,0057 0,0265 0,0080 0,3143 0,0533 River, below Marmarik village Meghradzor Meghradzor village, be- 15 14,77 2,21 5,34 1,195 0,00031 <0.0001 0,00818 0,02 0,0019 0,0133 0,0029 0,1822 0,0018 fore the mine

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Table 11: Results of the chemical analyses – continued.

River Sampling site site Co Ni Cu Zn As Se Sr Mo Cd Sn Sb Ba Pb num. mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L Tandzut Antarashen village 1 0,0007 0,0014 0,0032 0,0064 0,0130 0,0123 0,083 0,0015 <0.0001 0,00035 <0.0001 0,0154 0,0022 Tandzut Below Vanadzor town 2 0,0010 0,0011 0,0446 0,0073 0,0161 0,0102 0,134 0,0013 <0.0001 0,00024 0,0001 0,0127 0,0006 (Shahumyan), after mixing with Garpi tributary Katnaghbyu Armanis village 3 0,0219 0,0087 0,0279 1,4210 0,0041 0,0029 0,145 0,0006 0,0132 0,00028 <0.0001 0,0185 0,0005 r Dzoraget Below Stepanavan town, 4 0,0002 0,0010 0,0016 0,0046 0,0042 0,0015 0,108 0,0006 <0.0001 0,00022 <0.0001 0,0152 0,0003 after mixing Katnaghbyur River Katnaghbyu Urasar village 5 0,0002 0,0006 0,0010 0,0014 0,0026 0,0014 0,166 0,0005 <0.0001 0,00019 <0.0001 0,0226 0,0001 r Nahatak Mets Ayrum village, un- 6 0,0013 0,0030 0,0239 0,0295 0,0059 0,0078 0,726 0,0457 0,0002 <0.0001 0,0001 0,1035 0,0017 der the Nahatak Tailing Dump Debed After mixing with Nahatak 7 0,0004 0,0013 0,0089 0,0198 0,0033 0,0029 0,355 0,0127 0,0002 <0.0001 0,0001 0,0268 0,0003 river, before Karkop village Lalvar River mouth 9 0,0073 0,0037 0,3219 0,4318 0,0035 0,0020 0,320 0,0007 0,0022 0,00020 0,0002 0,0131 0,0027

Debed Alaverdi town, after mix- 10 0,0007 0,0018 0,0087 0,0475 0,0031 0,0016 0,184 0,0011 0,0003 0,00020 <0.0001 0,0200 0,0006 ing with Lalvar River Hagvi Hagvi village 11 0,0003 0,0015 0,0058 0,0166 0,0047 0,0021 0,635 0,0032 <0.0001 0,00011 0,0002 0,0520 0,0003 Sedvi Alaverdi town, after 12 0,0002 0,0009 0,0068 0,0035 0,0037 0,0016 0,303 0,0022 <0.0001 0,00017 0,0001 0,0206 0,0002 mixing Hagvi tributary to the Sedvi River Meghradzor Meghradzor village, af- 13 0,0001 0,0008 0,0068 0,0110 0,0125 0,0098 0,162 0,0010 <0.0001 <0.0001 <0.0001 0,0131 0,0007 ter the mine Marmarik After mixing Meghrad- 14 0,0003 0,0022 0,0026 0,0089 0,0268 0,0134 0,226 0,0027 <0.0001 0,00010 <0.0001 0,0267 0,0006 zor River, below Mar- marik village Meghradzor Meghradzor village, 15 <0.0001 0,0003 0,0011 0,0007 0,0060 0,0023 0,115 0,0010 <0.0001 0,00014 <0.0001 <0.01 <0.001 before the mine

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Table 12: Assessed water quality at the sampling sites of the Debed and Hrazdan River Basins based on the national water quality norms.

Water Parame- Water quality in- quality RBD River Sampling site (Site No.) ter quality dicator general class class Mode- Antarashen village (SW-01) Mn, Sn Moderate rate Cu, Sn Moderate Tandzut Below Vanadzor town (Shahumyan), after mixing with Garpi tributary V Poor Bad (SW-02) Fe Bad Cu, V, Sn, Sul- Moderate phate ion Kat- Armanis village Al Poor Bad naghbyur (SW-03) Zn, Cd, Mn, Co, Fe Bad

Below Stepanavan town, after mixing Fe Moderate Dzoraget Katnaghbyur River Poor (SW-04) V Poor Kat- Urasar village Mode- Fe Moderate naghbyur (SW-05) rate Cu, Ca, Ba, Al, Moderate Chloride ion, EC Mets Ayrum village, under the Na- Ammonium ion, Nahatak hatak Tailing Dump Nitrate ion, Mn, V, Poor Bad (SW-06) Na, pH Debed Mo, Fe, K, SS, Sul- Bad phate ion Nitrate ion, V, Fe, Moderate After mixing with Nahatak river, be- K, Chloride ion, EC Debed fore Karkop village Bad Na, Sulphate ion Poor (SW-07) Mo Bad Cd, EC Moderate River mouth Lalvar Zn, Co, Al Poor Bad (SW-09) Cu, Mn, Fe, Sul- Bad phate ion Alaverdi town, after mixing with Lalvar Mode- Debed Mn, V Moderate River (SW-10) rate

COD, Fe, K, Na, Moderate Hagvi Hagvi village (SW-11) Chloride ion, EC Poor Mo, Sulphate ion Poor

Alaverdi town, after mixing Hagvi trib- Mode- Sedvi Mo, V, Fe, Na Moderate utary to the Sedvi River (SW-12) rate

Meghradzor village, before the mine Fe Moderate (SW-15) Bad V Bad Meg- Fe Moderate hradzor Meghradzor village, after the mine Mn Poor Bad Hrazda (SW-13) n V Bad As, Fe, Ba, K, Moderate Chloride ion, EC After mixing Meghradzor River, below Marmarik Bad Marmarik village (SW-14) Na Poor Mn, V Bad

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4.3 Biological analyses

Biological sampling was conducted following the EUWI+ surface water sampling manual (EUWI+, 2019). The results of biological survey are provided as Excel table as separate files in Annex 6. The evaluated results are summarized in Table 13. The ecological status was calculated following the Ecological Status Classification System (ESCS) developed by EUWI+. The ECSC system considers the composition and abundance of taxa, the ratio of disturbance-sensitive taxa to insensitive taxa, the level of diversity and the occurrence of major taxonomic groups (EUWI+ RefCond reports). Table 13: Ecological Status at the sampling sites Water Type of quality Site Nr. of Ecological River sampling Nr. of taxa nEQR based on No. individuals status site chemical parameters Tandzut SW-01 R 26 268 1 High Moderate Tandzut SW-02 I 26 359 1 High Bad Katnaghbyur SW-03 I 0 0 0 Bad Bad Dzoraget SW-04 26 2210 1 High Poor Katnaghbyur SW-05 R 29 1983 1 High Moderate Nahatak SW-06 0 0 0 Bad Bad Debed SW-07 15 294 0.74 Good Bad Lalvar SW-09 0 0 0 Bad Bad Debed SW-10 6 47 0.56 Moderate Moderate Hagvi SW-11 32 343 1 High Poor Sedvi SW-12 24 326 1 High Moderate Meghradzor SW-13 26 896 1 High Bad Marmarik SW-14 15 737 0.9 High Bad Meghradzor SW-15 R 22 1617 1 High Bad

(R=reference, I=influenced)

In the mouths of Katnaghbyur (SS-03), Nahatak (SS-06) and Lalvar (SS-09) rivers no animals were found. The biodiversity and ecological status of the Hagvi and Sedvi Rivers has not been impacted by the Hagvi Mining site. There is considerable diversity of taxonomic composition in both the Hagvi and Sedvi rivers. In particular, the presence of larvae belonging to the family Ephemerellidae, which are quite sensitive to contamination, were observed at these two sampling sites. The impact of the Meghradzor mine does not have a significant impact on the biodiversity of the Me- ghradzor River. Although the number/density of animals is almost halved compared to the reference point at the mouth of the Meghradzor River, the species composition is even increased by 4. According to the biological results, the Katnaghbyur River has no or insignificant impact on the Dzoraget River. The highest density of animals is observed at SS-04 in the Dzoraget River, the diversity of species is also quite high. This can be due to several reasons:

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1) In the section mixing with the Katnaghbyur River, the Dzoraget is a rather big river compared to Katnaghbyur and it has a rather big flow. 2) The multilayer substrate also plays a big role, which changes from small sand to large rock in this area. 3) In this part, almost the entire riverbed is covered with a carpet of macrophytes, which performs the function of natural filtration. The impact of the Tandzut mining site on the ecosystem of Tandzut River is not visible. There are no significant differences in the density at the site downstream the mining area (SS-02) compared to the reference site (SS-01). However, the results of chemical data show big differences of the assessment results and there is need for additional research in this area. With regard to the selection of reference sites, the obtained biological data prove that they are reason- able points, as the diversity of the species/taxonomic composition and the density of animals were quite high at those sampling sites. The only exception is the reference site for the Nahatak River, where sampling was not possible due to the very low water level in the river.

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5 DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

Tandzut River According to the results of the water quality assessment based on the chemical parameters, the water quality at the reference SS-01 has been assessed as moderate due to the elevated concentrations of Sn and Mn (Table 12). According to the hydrobiological data, the water quality at the SS-01 has been assessed as high (Table 13). In the Tandzut River, after mixing with the Garpi tributary (Sampling site 2) in comparison with the non- influenced reference site (sampling site 1), the concentrations of sulphate ion, copper, iron and cobalt were increased by 5.8, 13.8, 3.9, 1.4 times, respectively. According to the assessment results based on the national water quality norms (Table 12) the concentration of iron has been assessed as bad (V class), the concentration of copper as moderate and the concentrations of sulphate ion and cobalt as good. Table 12 demonstrate that the concentrations of Sn were assessed as moderate at both sites: SS-011 and SS-02, indicating probably low threshold values of the second class of norms. Some parameters also show the increase of concentrations: the value of EC was increased by 2.4 times, chloride ion 1.9 times, Sr 1.6 times and major cations were observed. It was expected to have also an essential increase of concentrations of Zn, As, and Cr at the site SS-02 but the investigation has shown a slight increase or almost no changes. To verify and confirm the influence of Garpi tributary, an additional observation point is needed before the Garpi tributary.

Katnaghbyur and Dzoraget Rivers According to the results of water quality assessment based on the chemical parameters the water quality at the reference SS-05 has been assessed bad due to the elevated concentrations of Fe and Cd (Table 12). According to the hydrobiological data the water quality at the SS-05 has been assessed as high (Table 13). The investigation of the Katnaghbyur River in the village of Armanis (SS-03) showed that the influence of Polymetallic Mine and Mining-Processing Plant on the river Katnaghbjur is significant, clearly notice- able compared to the reference SS-05. In fact, the concentrations of the following parameters were increased significantly: Table 14: Increase of concentrations at site SS-03 (Armanis) compared to the reference site SS-05 expressed as ratio c(ss-03)/c(SS-05)

Zn Mn Co Cd Al Cu Ni Fe TSS SO4 Pb Se Ratio of c 981.7 227.8 139.2 132.3 51 28.3 13.4 9.0 8.1 7.7 3.7 2.0

A slight increase (1.5-1.9 times) of concentrations of Cl, V, Mg, Li and As also have been observed. The content of Au and Ag was not investigated. The water quality of the Dzoraget River at the SS-04, after mixing Kathnaghbyur River was assessed ‘high’ based on the biological data and ‘poor’ based on the chemical data.

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In the Dzoraget River, the concentrations of some parameters such as Al (3.3), Zn (3.2), Ti (3.1), V (2.4), Pb (2.1), Cu (1.6), Fe (1.8), Co (1.6), Ni (1.5) have increased slightly in comparison with SS-05. Thus, the impact of Katnaghbyur River on the Dzoraget River is small. Nahatak and Debed Rivers The water sampling was not carried out above the village of Mets Ayrum (SS-08), which is source of the river Nahatak due to the almost drying up of the Nahatak River. Thus, it was not possible to estimate the increase in concentrations of parameters. The water quality of the Nahatak River at SS-06, downstream the Nahatak tailing dam was assessed as “bad” based on the biological and the chemical data. The elevated concentrations Mo, Fe, K, TSS, sulphate ion, Cu, Ca, Ba, Al, Mn, V, Na, chloride ion, EC in regard to the national water quality norms (Table 12) have been observed in Nahatak River (SS-06). Concentrations of As, Pb, Cr, Cd and Zn were expected to be increased. The concentrations of these metals, however, are high compared to the other reference sites (SS-05 and SS-01) besides Cr. Due to the national norms, however, the concentrations were not assessed as elevated. An impact of Nahatak tailing dam on the Debed River was observed. Downstream the confluence of Nahatak River into the Debed River the concentrations of sulphate ion and heavy metals were increased. The water quality of the Debed River at the SS-07, after the mixing with Nahatak River, was assessed as “high quality” based on the biological data and “bad quality” based on the chemical data. The impact of Nahatak River on the Debed River is significant. Lalvar and Debed Rivers The Lalvar River, located near the Alaverdi copper smelter and the arsenic cemetery has been severely affected by mining activities. The water quality of the Lalvar River at SS-09 was assessed as “bad quality” based on the biological and the chemical data. Elevated concentrations of Mn, Cu, Fe, SO4, Al, Co, Zn, Cd and EC (in regard to national water quality norms) were observed in Lalvar River (SS-09). It was interesting to find out that the concentration of As was not high. Further samples should be taken to reveal the reason of low arsenic concentration. The water quality of the Debed River at SS-10, after the mixing with Lalvar River, was assessed as “moderate quality” based on the biological and chemical data (high concentration in Mn and V). Hagvi and Sedvi Rivers The influence of the Hagvi copper mine has been studied on the Hagvi and Sedvi rivers. The water quality of the Hagvi River at SS-11 was assessed as “high quality” based on the biological and as “poor quality” based on the chemical data. In the Hagvi River (SS-11), the concentration of Mo and sulphate ion has been assessed IV class, and the concentrations of COD, Fe, K, Na, chloride ion and EC in III class according to the national norms. The water quality of the Sedvi River at SS-12 was assessed as “high quality” based on the biological and as “moderate quality” based on the chemical data. Elevated concentrations of Mo, V, Fe and Na were observed compared to the national norms. The content of these metals was assessed as III class. In the Hagvi River (SS-11) in comparison with the SS-12, the higher concentrations (more than 1.5 times) of the following parameters have been observed: Zn (4.8 times), TSS (3.0 times), SO4 (2.8 times), Li (2.8 times), Ba (2.5 times), Cl (2.4 times), K (2.4 times), Sr (2.1 times), Ca (1.8 times), EC (1.7 times), sulphateNi (1.7 times). The study shows, that Hagvi River has an impact on the Sedvi River. The source of elevated concentrations of Mo, Fe and Na is the Hagvi River.

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Meghradzor and Marmarik Rivers The water quality of the Meghradzor River at SS-15 above the mining site was assessed as “high quality” based on the biological data and as “bad” based on the chemical data. The reason of “bad chemical quality” is the observed vanadium concentration. The results showed that the threshold values for vanadium is very low which lead the wrong assessment. The background concentration of vanadium ap- pears to be higher in the Meghradzor river basin. This should be considered and further investigations in the basin should be carried out to adopt a new threshold for vanadium. The water quality of the Meghradzor River at SS-13 below the mining site was assessed as “high quality” based on the biological data and as “bad” based on the chemical data. In comparison with the not- influenced background site (SS-15), the increase (more than 1.5 times) of concentrations at SS-13 are as follows: Mn (15.6 times), Zn (15.1 times), Cu (6.0 times), Se (4.3 times), Li (3.0 times), Ni (2.6 times), As (2.1 times), sulphate ion (2.1 times), TSS (2.1 times), Al (2.0 times), Mg (2.0 times), EC (1.6 times) and Cr (1.6 times). This shows the impact of mining on the water quality of Meghradzor River. The water quality of the Marmarik River at SS-14 after inflowing of the Meghradzor River was assessed as “high quality” based on the biological and as “bad quality” based on the chemical data. The elevated concentrations of As, Fe, Ba, K, Chloride ion, EC were observed compared to the national norms and also compared to the reference SS-15. The content of these metals was assessed in III class. The source of these metals are mineral waters which influence the upper part of the Marmarik River Basin. The impact of Meghradzor River on the Marmarik river was not observed.

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Table 15: Results of the chemical analyses. Green sites are reference sites for the sites listed below.

No. River RBD Site location Pressure type Target of investigation Results SS SS- To investigate abandoned dumpsite pres- Tandzut Debed Antarashen village SulphurPyrite 01 sure on the river The Tandzut River joins the Pambak River elevated concentrations compared to after the city of Vanadzor, where the pres- upstream site: sure of the city on the river is very high. In SO4, Fe, Cu, Co, EC and also Sr, Cl Below Vanadzor town Mining -Aban- order to correctly assess the impact of the

1. SS- (Shahumyan), after doned dumpsite of Tandzut site overburden, it is expedient to Tandzut Debed 02 mixing with Garpi trib- Tandzut Sulphur- carry out monitoring below the confluence

utary Pyrite mine point with the Garpi tributary of the Tandzut No increase in concentrations Zn As, River. and Cr. Targeted parameters: Zn, Cu, Cr, Co, As,

and sulphate ion, pH, EC 2. SS- Katnaghbjur Debed Urasar village reference _ 05 elevated concentrations compared to To investigate Polymetallic Mine and Min- Mining -Armanis upstream site ing-Processing Plant pressure on to the 3. SS- Polymetallic Mine SO4, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Se Katnaghbjur Debed Armanis village river Katnaghbjur 03 and Mining-Pro- also Targeted parameters: Sulphate, Cu, Pb, cessing Plant Ni, Co, Mn, Fe, Al, EC and TSS, Sr, Zn, Au, Ag, Cd, Se. Cl The concentrations of some parame- Mining -Armanis To investigate Polymetallic Mine and Min- ters such as Al, Zn, Ti, V, Pb, Cu, Fe, Below Stepanavan 4. SS- Polymetallic Mine ing-Processing Plant pressure on to the Co, Ni, have increased slightly com- Dzoraget Debed town, after mixing 04 and Mining-Pro- river Dzoraget from the side of Katnaghbjur pared with reference site. Katnaghbyur River cessing Plant tributary The impact of Katnaghbyur River on the Dzoraget River is small. To investigate Polymetallic Mine and Min- The elevated concentrations in SO4, ing-Processing Plant tail pressure on to the Mets Ayrum village, Nahatak tail, cop- Cu, Zn, Cd, Mo, Pb, Ni, Co, Mn, Fe, 5. SS- Nahatak river Nahatak (Chochkan) Debed under the Nahatak per-polymetallic EC and also Ca, Na, K, TSS, Sr, Cl 06 (Chochkan) Targeted parameters: As, Cu, Pb, Cr, Cd, Tailing Dump mining have been observed. Zn and other heavy metals and sulphate, No increase in concentration Cr EC, pH. The elevated concentrations in Mo, To investigate Polymetallic Mine and Min- After mixing Nahatak Nahatak tail, cop- SO4, Na, V, Fe, K, Chloride ion, 6. SS- ing-Processing Plant tail pressure on to the Debed Debed river, before Karkop per-polymetallic 07 river Debed from the side of Nahatak and EC have been observed. village mining (Chochkan) tributary The impact of Nahatak River on the Debed River is significant.

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 Mining, Alaverdi The elevated concentrations in Mn, 7. SS- Copper Smelter To investigate heavy metals and sulphate Cu, Fe, SO4-, Al, Co, Zn, Cd and EC Lalvar Debed River mouth 09 and Arsenic grave- to the River Lalvar have been observed. yard  Mining, Alaverdi The elevated concentrations in Mn, To investigate heavy metals and sulphate 8. SS- Alaverdi town, after Copper Smelter and V have been observed. Debed Debed to the River Debed from the side of Lalvar 10 mixing Lalvar River and Arsenic grave- The impact of Lalvar River on the tributary yard Debed River is not obvious. The elevated concentrations in Mo 9. SS- To investigate heavy metals and sulphate Hagvi Debed Hagvi village  Hagvi copper mine SO4, COD, Fe, K, Na, Cl and EC 11 to the River Hagvi have been observed. Alaverdi town, after 10. SS- To investigate heavy metals and sulphate The impact of Hagvi River on the Sedvi Debed mixing Hagvi tributary Hagvi copper mine 12 to the River Sedvi Sedvi River was observed. to the Sedvi River 11. SS- Meghradzor village, Meghradzor Hrazdan reference 15 before the mine The elevated concentrations in Mn, 12. SS- Meghradzor village, Meghradzor gold To investigate heavy metals and sulphate Zn, Cu, Se, Li, Ni, As, sulphate ion, Meghradzor Hrazdan 13 after the mine mine to the River Meghradzor TSS, Al, Mg, EC and Cr have been observed. After mixing Meghrad- To investigate heavy metals and sulphate The impact of Meghradzor River 13. SS- Meghradzor gold Marmarik Hrazdan zor River, below Mar- to the River Marmarik from the side of Me- on the Marmarik River is insignifi- 14 mine marik village ghradzor tributary cant.

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6 CONCLUSIONS

The selected rivers were not sufficiently explored before this investigation. Both citizens and non-governmental organizations spoke about the impact of the mining industry on the water quality of those rivers. This study showed that: 1. The reference sites SS-01, SS-05, SS-15 were selected correctly which has been confirmed by hydrobiological data. The diversity of species / taxonomic composition, and density of animals were quite high in those sampling sites. The water quality based on the biological data was assessed as “high quality”. These sites can later be used as reference sites. 2. In the Tandzut River after mining site (SS-02) the elevated concentrations of sulphate ion, EC, Fe, Cu, Co, Sr and Cr have been found compared to sampling site before pressure (SS-01). The water quality classification results based on the biological and chemical data showed different results. The Tandzut River should be further investigated on a seasonal basis to reveal the impact of of the mining site and confirm the water quality. 3. The Kathnaghbyur river is impacted by Armanis Polymetallic Mine and Mining-Processing Plant. The water quality after mining site (SS-03) has been assessed as “bad status” based on the chemical and biological data. The results showed small impact of the Kathnaghbyur River on the Dzoraget River. 4. The Nahatak River is impacted by Nahatak tailing dam. The water quality downstream the tailing dam has been assessed as “bad status” based on the chemical and biological data. The impact of Nahatak River on the Debed River is significant. Elevated concentrations of Mo, SO4, Na, V, Fe, K, Chloride ion, and EC have been observed. 5. The Lalvar River is impacted by the wastewater of the Alaverdi copper smelter. The water quality downstream the tailing dam has been assessed as “bad status” based on the chemical and biological data. It was found that the concentration of As, however, is not high. The investigation should be continued at this sampling site and unveal the reason of low arsenic concentration. The impact of Lalvar River on the Debed River is not obvious. 6. The water quality in the Hagvi River is high quality based on the biological and the poor quality based on the chemical data. The reason of poor quality is connected to the elevated concentrations of Mo and sulphate ion according to the national norms. 7. The water quality of the Sedvi River was assessed as “high quality” based on the biological and tas “moderate quality” based on the chemical data. The elevated concentrations of Mo, V, Fe and Na were observed compared to the national norms. The content of these metals was assessed as III class. The elevated concentrations of Mo, Fe and Na show that the Hagvi River has an impact on the Sedvi River. 8. The water quality of the Meghradzor River below the mining site was assessed as “high quality” based on the biological data and as “bad” based on the chemical data. The comparison with the not-influenced reference site has been shown the big increase in concentrations of some parameters such as Mn (15.6 times), Zn (15.1 times), Cu (6.0 times), Se (4.3 times), indicating the impact of mining site on the water quality of Meghradzor River. This site should be investigated on a seasonal basis to reveal the reason of differences and adjust the water quality status. 9. A single monitoring is not enough to reveal the impact of diffuse mining pollution in river basins. The survey should be continued to obtain data from other seasons particularly snow melting and heavy rain periods. 10. The national norms of some water quality parameters seems to have very low threshold values which do not take into account typical background concentrations. For example, the background concentration of vanadium for the Debed River Basin is not characteristic for the Tandzut and Megradzor River. The national norms should be reviewed considering biological monitoring data.

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7 LESSONS LEARNED

A more thorough examination of the site, roads, access to the rivers, and sources of contamination should be performed prior to sampling.

The capacity of HMC staff should be continuously developed through training and other type of learnings to be capable for implementation EU WFD coherent monitoring.

A general observation of the UBA coordination team across all six countries is that the need to collabo- rate among affected entities did not fully work out. In the inception phase of the survey in spring/summer 2020, a series of webinars took place to bring across the principles of this environment assessment tool, to show its role and function among the WFD monitoring schemes, and encourage the beneficiaries to liaise with other relevant entities (water users, affected communes, inspection authorities etc.). For this reason, also this document intended to compile relevant stakeholders beyond the water sampling and analysing responsibility of the beneficiary. In practice, however, an adjustment of actions to be taken, the sharing and discussion of data from the Minister’s office down to the civil protection did not sufficiently take place in most cases. More emphasis of this communication and information process would have gone far beyond the limits of this survey. The principle of collaboration and “thinking out of the box” should receive a central role in the future.

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8 ANNEXES

Annex 1: Field protocols, “annex 1 – field protocols.pdf”

Annex 2: Photo documentation, “annex 2 - photo documentation.zip”

Annex 3: chemical data summary, “annex 3 – laboratory test reports.xls”

Annex 4: protocol for sample handover, “annex 4 – protocols for sample delivery and handover.pdf”

Annex 6: biological data summary, “annex 5 – hydrobiology results.zip”

Annex 7: water quality norms (next pages)

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Annex 7 Debed River Basin (RA Government Decision #75‐N, 27.01.2011 Annex 3)

Water quality class Water quality parame- Excellent Moderate Poor Unit ter Good (II) Bad (V) (I) (III) (IV)

Dissolved Oxygen >8 >7 >5 >4 <4 mgO2/L pH 6.5-9 <6.5 and >9 - EC 218 436 1000 1500 >1500 μsim/cm TSS 2.84 3.41 5.68 11.36 >11.36 mg/L

BOD5 3 5 9 18 >18 mgO2/L

COD-Cr 10 25 40 80 >80 mgO2/L Ammonia nitrogen 0.191 0.4 1.2 2.4 > 2.4 mg/L Nitrite nitrogen 0.012 0.06 0.12 0.3 >0.3 mg/L Nitrate nitrogen 1.62 2.5 5.6 11.3 >11.3 mg/L Phosphate phosphorus 0.031 0.1 0.2 0.4 >0.4 mg/L Total phosphorus 0.050 0.2 0.4 1 >1 mg/L Chloride ion 6.3 12.6 150 200 > 200 mg/L Sulphate ion 35.42 70.84 150 250 > 250 mg/L Zinc 4.3 100 200 500 >500 μg/L Copper 3.0 23.0 50 100 >100 μg/L Chromium 1.3 11.3 100 250 >250 μg/L Arsenic 0.42 20 50 100 >100 μg/L Cadmium 0.24 1.24 2.24 4.24 >4.24 μg/L Lead 0.66 10.66 25 50 >50 μg/L Nickel 1.10 11.10 50 100 >100 μg/L Molybdenum 0.76 1.52 3.04 6.08 >6.08 μg/L Manganese 32.0 64.0 128.0 256.0 >256.0 μg/L Vanadium 2.9 5.8 11.6 23.2 >23.2 μg/L Cobalt 1.4 2.8 5.6 11.2 >11.2 μg/L Iron 0.09 0.18 0.5 1 >1.00 mg/L Calcium 40 100 200 300 >300 mg/L Magnesium 7.2 50 100 200 >200 mg/L Barium 35.0 70.0 140.0 1000 >1000 μg/L Beryllium 0.015 0.030 0.060 100 >100 μg/L Potassium 1.4 2.8 5.6 11.2 >11.2 mg/L Sodium 9.02 18.04 36.08 72.16 >72.16 mg/L Lithium 0.5 1.0 2.0 2500 >2500 μg/L Boron 16.8 450 700 1000 2000 μg/L Aluminum 258.6 517.2 1034.4 5000 >5000 μg/L Selenium 1 20 40 80 >80 μg/L Antimony 0.22 0.44 0.88 1.76 >1.76 μg/L Tin 0.11 0.22 0.44 0.88 >0.88 μg/L

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Marmarik River Basin (RA Government Decision #75‐N, 27.01.2011 Annex 9)

Water quality class Water quality parame- Excellent Moderate Poor Unit ter Good (II) Bad (V) (I) (III) (IV)

Dissolved Oxygen >8 >7 >5 >4 <4 mgO2/L pH 6.5-9 <6.5 and >9 - EC 218 436 1000 1500 >1500 μsim/cm TSS 2.84 3.41 5.68 11.36 >11.36 mg/L

BOD5 3 5 9 18 >18 mgO2/L

COD-Cr 10 25 40 80 >80 mgO2/L Ammonia nitrogen 0.191 0.4 1.2 2.4 > 2.4 mg/L Nitrite nitrogen 0.012 0.06 0.12 0.3 >0.3 mg/L Nitrate nitrogen 1.62 2.5 5.6 11.3 >11.3 mg/L Phosphate phosphorus 0.031 0.1 0.2 0.4 >0.4 mg/L Total phosphorus 0.050 0.2 0.4 1 >1 mg/L Chloride ion 4.2 8.4 150 200 > 200 mg/L Sulphate ion 10.3 20.6 150 250 > 250 mg/L Zinc 3.0 100 200 500 >500 μg/L Copper 3.0 23.0 50 100 >100 μg/L Chromium 1.0 11.0 100 250 >250 μg/L Arsenic 0.13 20 50 100 >100 μg/L Cadmium 0.02 1.02 2.02 4.02 >4.02 μg/L Lead 0.3 10.3 25 50 >50 μg/L Nickel 1.0 11.0 50 100 >100 μg/L Molybdenum 7 14 28 56 >56 μg/L Manganese 5 10 20 40 >40 μg/L Vanadium 1 2 4 8 >8 μg/L Cobalt 0.14 0.28 0.56 1.12 >1.12 mg/L Iron 0.08 0.16 0.5 1 >1 mg/L Calcium 9.7 100 200 300 >300 mg/L Magnesium 2.8 50 100 200 >200 mg/L Barium 0.009 0.018 0.036 1.0 >1.0 μg/L Beryllium 0.015 0.030 0.060 100 >100 μg/L Potassium 1.5 3 6 12 >12.0 mg/L Sodium 5 10 20 40 >40 mg/L Lithium 0.5 1.0 2.0 2500 >2500 μg/L Boron 9.0 450 700 1000 >1000 μg/L Aluminum 65 130 260 5000 >5000 μg/L Selenium 0.47 20 40 80 >80 μg/L Antimony 0.2 0.4 0.8 1.6 >1.6 μg/L Tin 0.09 0.18 0.36 0.72 >0.72 μg/L

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