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"MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT" SE E1019 Public Disclosure Authorized YEREVAN WATER AND WASTEWATER PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN FINAL REPORT Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Yerevan, July 2004 Public Disclosure Authorized E 28 YEREVAN WATER AND WASTEWATER PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN Prepared for STATE COMMITTEE OF WATER SYSTEM UNDER RA GOVERMENT "MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT" SE Preparedby SUSTAINABLE WATER ENVIROMNENT (SWE) NGO (Leader) YEREVANDESIGN CJSC ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC ADVOCACY CENTER (EPAC) NGO July, 2004 29 YEREVAN WATER AND WASTEWATER PROJECT 1. Introduction The Government of Armenia has requested support from the World Bank towards the implementation of a Yerevan Water and Wastewater Project aiming at improving the efficiency, management, operation, delivery and financial sustainability of water supply and wastewater services in the Yerevan service area and promoting efficient protection of the environmental and water resources Based on the current design and present agreements with the Government of Armenia, it is expected the proposed Project will include the following components: Component 1: Investment Fund Specific investments to be undertaken will be identified by the operator during implementation, but generally fall into three categories: Energy savings Significant further reduction of energy cost is planned. System components consuming high amounts of energy require capital investment to replace pumping with gravity schemes and old, inefficient plants and pumps with more efficient units. Loss reduction and reliability of supply Water abstraction is very high in comparison to consumption levels. Most YWSC water facilities are old, have been poorly maintained and have received minimal investment for many years. Capital investment in village supply lines, distribution networks, block service connections and daily regulating water reservoirs are required to reduce losses and provide reliable 24-hour water supply. Reduction of environmental pollution Investment is required in sewage collection and small pumping stations. Sewage currently is discharged directly into watercourses, in some cases in recreational areas of central Yerevan. The existing wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) has fallen into dereliction. Its complete reconstruction or replacement is not currently affordable, but a first stage solution is rehabilitation of a portion of the plant's primary treatment. Donor funding currently is sought for WWTP rehabilitation and these amounts are not included in the Investment Fund. Component 2: Technical Assistance and Training Component will fund project financial and technical audits, as well as MDPMU incremental operating expenses. Component 3: Refinancing of Project Preparation Facility. I The main strategical goals of the project are: water quality improvement and increase of water supply reliability, provision of 24-hour water supply, electric energy saving, leakage reduction, establishment of overall water metering system, water use measurement, 100% cost recovery for the provision of water supply services, provision of financial self sustainability, and addressing priority environmental problems in the water supply and wastewater sector. 30 This document presents the Environmental Assessment and Environmental Management Plan, which have been prepared to ensure that the proposed Yerevan Water and Wastewater Project is implemented in accordance with World Bank Operational Policy OP 4.01 on Environmental Assessment as well as Armenian laws and regulations on environmental protection and environmental impact assessment. It identifies key environmental and social impacts that could result from the project, proposes mitigation measures to address the most significant negative impacts, and outlines the monitoring programs and institutional responsibilities for implementation. For the purpose of the World Bank Operational Policy OP 4.01, the proposed project has been rated as an environmental category Fl (Financial Intermediary) given the fact that the exact investment items will not be known at the time of project appraisal. Although no major environmental issues are anticipated, since the Investment Fund will concentrate on rehabilitation of existing infrastructure, certain investments items may require special mitigation measures to protect the environment and enhance health safety. The project will not present land acquisition or resettlement issues, since most of the works will be done in properties owned by water/wastewater companies, municipal land or rights-of-way assigned to municipal infrastructure. Iinvestments are expected to fall under the environmental category B or C. Procedures for environmental category A sub-project would be developed on a case by case basis in consultation with the World Bank. The project will be implemented by the Municipal Development Fund Management Unit (MDFMU) currently implementing the Municipal Development Project (MDP). 2. General Information 2.1. Brief description of water supply systems of the residential areas within the YWSE service area The YWSE serves the water and wastewater systems of Yerevan and 39 surrounding residential areas and supplies water to 15 residential areas served by Armenian Water and Sewerage CJSC. The last version of Yerevan Water Supply General Scheme (YWSGS) developed by <<YerevanDesign>> Institute for perspective 1990-2000 period was approved in 1983. The design indicators of the YWSGS have not been revised since 1983. Yerevan water supply is carried out through 11 systems fed from 13 water springs. Total annual water intake is 394.8 million cubic meters, of which 48% is by gravity and 52% by pumping. The Yerevan's water supply systems are: 1. Katnaghbyur system 2. Arzakan-Gyumush system 3. Arzni system 4. Aparan system 5. Shor-Shor system 6. Garni system 7. Araratyan 1 and 2 stages system 8. Araratyan 3 and 4 stages system 9. Tsaravaghbyur system 10. Dzoraghbyur system 11. Yerevan HPP system The total number of the customers served by YWSE is 313,946, including 303,000 residential customers (or 1,280,000 Yerevan's population (according to data as of June 2004) and 73,000 31 people in other villages served by YWSC). The number of customers signed water supply contracts is 372,526. The average level of water production is 845 liters per capita per day (lcd). 2.2. Drinking water supply sources and their protection within YWSE service area Drinking water supply to Yerevan comes from underground water resources or springs of Arzakan, Gyumush, Arzni, Getamej, Tsaravaghbyur, Dzoraghbyur, Katnaghbyur, Arinj, Garni, Aparan and Ararat artesian basin, Guy-Haykashen, which are located in Hrazdan, Azat, Cassakh river basins and Hrazdan-Metsamor inter-basin area of Ararat depression. Protection of underground waters is carried out by measures aiming at eliminating pollution or depletion and enforcing sanitary protection zones, and careful monitoring of several parameters, e.g., discharge, level, temperature, hydro-chemical composition, technical condition of posts and catchments. With regard to the sanitary protection zones, it is common to separate two (sometimes three) sanitary protection zones within the water catchment structures and the areas adjacent to them: strict regime and limiting regime. While the first sanitary zone protects underground waters against pollution within water catchment structures, the second zone covers a larger area where possible objects of underground water pollution are strictly forbidden. 2.3. Brief description of the technical condition of Water supply systems and the existing problems Problems faced by the water supply systems located in the YWSE service area (headwork, transmission mains, daily regulation reservoirs (DRR) and distribution networks) are almost of the same nature. Most of them are the results of the aging of the infrastructure - often beyond 30 years. In the water supply systems' headwork area, the sanitary protection zones and spring intake structures are in a poor condition, the latter not meeting the requirements of leak-tightness. Leaks from some spring intakes create artificial lakes around sanitary zones, providing the pre- conditions for development of various biological microorganisms. Although the water supply to a number of residential areas in the YWSE service area is carried out through pumping, most of the pump stations are in deplorable conditions - they are operated with out-of-date equipment and are in need of spare parts. Because of insufficient repair and rehabilitation works during the recent years, the deterioration degree of the pipelines has significantly increased. About 60% of the total length of water supply pipelines was built more than 30 years ago. In addition to the aging of the pipelines, many new facilities (e.g., cemeteries, landfills, cattle farms and other buildings) have been illegably constructed on the routes of water pipelines, infringing in their safety. Daily regulation reservoirs need serious repair. A large number of them has been de- commissioned because of high level of leaks. The operational ones do not fully correspond to technological requirements because of their small sizes as compared to the required volumes and absence of zoning. At present the distribution-regulation junctions existing in distribution networks have become a source of leaks and drinking water quality violation because of infringement of leak