Armenia’s largest lake ‘blooming’ again

YEREVAN, June 24. /ARKA/. Armenia’s largest Lake Sevan is "blooming" again with parts of it covered in green. The coloring is caused by the algae bloom in the lake.

Environment Minister Romanos Petrosyan told reporters today that the ministry asked the government to release finance for acquisition of special equipment for cleaning the lake on a permanent basis.

He said the lake’s ecosystem is being affected by illegal buildings, erected along the shores, construction waste and underwater vegetation and when the levels of the lake began to rise, large areas of trees and bushes remained under water worsening the quality of the water.

“In early February we dismantled about 3 dozen illegally built structures at the expense of the Sevan National Park. But huge funds are needed to dismantle as many as 1,650 structures, including the removal of construction waste and the cleaning of the coastal area. Therefore, we have suspended work until technical re-equipment,” Petrosyan said.

According to him, if the cleaning is done and the discharge of sewage into the lake is stopped, the algae bloom will stop too.

Some species of these algae produce toxins, which have a negative effect on the health of animals and humans when they swim in the water or swallow it by negligence. In this regard, the Ministry of Health even urged citizens to avoid swimming in those parts of Lake Sevan where blue-green algae accumulations were observed near the shore.