THE INDOMITABLE KURA

The National Department for the Monitoring of the Environment of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources has published the results of monitoring the pollution levels of the transboundary rivers Kura and Araz, and also their channels for mid-January.

The report of the ministry's press service says that the monitoring revealed an overshoot of the normal content of biogenic substances in the Kura and its channels as a result of the direct spill of liquid household and industrial waste into the Kura and Araz rivers in Georgia and Armenia. The main pollutants of the water at the Sixli-2 border crossing point of the Kura river are biogenic substances and the phenol content is five times over the maximum permissible norm, and four times over on the Aqstafacay river and the Aqstafacay reservoir. In the river Araz on the border with Armenia, the phenol content also exceeds the permissible norm. At the Horadiz border crossing point the phenol level is four times over the norm, at the Sah-Sevan point two times over and at Bahramtapa three times. The reason for this is the flow of polluted rivers from Armenia. The level of copper compounds is within the limits.

Year on year ministry reports register roughly identical results of the monitoring of pollution in these border rivers, which is of immense importance in the country's economic, social and ecological life. Two pipes - Kura-1 and Kura-2 - provide drinking water to Baku alone. A huge area, used for agriculture, is irrigated from this river, the country's biggest hydro-electric power station is powered by water from the Kura and the eco-system of a considerable part of the country depends on this river.

It is obvious from the monitoring reports that the pollution of the Kura is out of control in Georgia. In this regard, R+ approached various structures in the neighbouring country and asked them to comment on the results of the research.

Professor Nino Kezevadze, an advisor to the general director of the Georgian Water and Power (GWP) company, which supplies water to Tbilisi, said they had begun implementing the "Kura without effluent" project. "We are studying all the water that empties into the Kura. Officially, there are no discharges of liquid industrial waste in this river. But there are flaws in the system to protect the Kura from effluent and untreated sewage waste, as well as all kinds of chemical substances and compounds, along with rainwater, which are entering the river. The implementation of this project began in the autumn of 2013. The project entails separating the wastewater and sewage, building new communications systems, redesigning the old canals and linking them to the new ones," she said. 

Among other things, it is proposed to direct effluent from Tbilisi to a collector in Gardabani, which is also being redesigned as part of the "Kura without effluent" project, which will help considerably to reduce pollution of the water by liquid household waste. All building, repair-and-redesign work to stop the overspill of effluent into the Kura is due to be completed by 2018.

Manana Devidze, director of the Georgian Environmental Protection Fund, is not so optimistic about the immediate future of the Kura. She says that huge financial resources, which the government doesn't have, are required to stop the pollution of the Kura in Georgia. "Pollution of the water by household and industrial waste is continuing in Georgia. There are a steel works and a number of other enterprises.  Phenol can come from household detergents, industrial and trade effluent. We have nothing substantial at the moment to stop the pollution of the Kura," the ecologist said in an interview for R+.

She said it was for this reason that Georgia did not sign up to the convention on trans-boundary rivers. "Turkey, which is also polluting the Kura, didn't sign this convention, either. At the moment it is hard to say who is spilling most of the effluent into the river. The point is that having signed this convention, the countries that are polluting the trans-boundary rivers should pay large fines. In all probability, the government will hold out against signing until such time as the pollution of the Kura is significantly reduced," Devidze said. Protection of the water resources of the Kura is a very big problem demanding the joint efforts of all three countries - Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, she says. A programme and a plan for the joint protection of the river need to be drawn up and large sums invested in the construction of new purification systems, and so on. At the same time, the Georgian expert says, the Kura, when it reaches the borders of Azerbaijan, goes through a stage of self-purification when a specific amount of bio- and inorganic pollutants settle on the river bed. So at the Azerbaijani border the water is not so highly polluted as, say, in Tbilisi or Rustavi. "It's great that the river has this ability to purify itself. But the Kura is also being polluted in Azerbaijan, mainly by wastewater from agricultural production," Devidze noted.

Matanat Avazova, deputy director of the National Department for Monitoring of the Environment of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, claims that pollution levels in the Kura and the Araz have not changed much in the last few years. "The rivers are steadily polluting and this is borne out by our research. No measures to prevent the pollution of these rivers have been carried out in either Georgia or Armenia. Industrial, domestic and biogenic waste is steadily pouring into the rivers. Some mechanical purification may be going on but, like 5-10 years ago, we are finding compounds of phosphorus, nitrogen and other chemicals in the water. This means that liquid waste is pouring into the rivers without any biological or chemical purification in Georgia and Armenia," Avazova told R+.

The situation regarding the pollution of the Kura is no better in Azerbaijan. But work is being done to stop wastewater pouring into the river. Various programmes on this are in place. In the west of the country the Kura is being purified by 30-40 per cent, passing through the cascade of hydro-electric power stations at the Mingacevir and Yenikand-Samkir reservoirs, but then the water is again being polluted in Zardab, Yevlax, Salyan and Sirvan Districts. The reduction in the level of the water in the river is leading to an increase in the concentration of pollution and also the reverse - the more water there is, the lower the degree of pollution. But in any event, effluent is still pouring into the rivers in the neighbouring countries.

According to Avazova, Georgia will soon be signing up to the convention on transboundary rivers. This is linked with the fact that Georgia is pursuing a course towards European integration and the European structures are helping Georgia to solve the question of the ecological protection of the transboundary rivers. This country has received considerable funds for fulfilling the conditions of the convention and signing up to it.

Incidentally, nothing is being done in Armenia in this regard. They are not even considering joining this international convention. In some regional projects Azerbaijan and Georgia are carrying out measures jointly to protect the ecology of the waters of the Kura.

Preparations for a draft Georgia-Azerbaijan inter-governmental agreement "Cooperation in the stable use and protection of the water resources of the Kura" have virtually been completed and the draft is now being considered by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.  This agreement is expected to be signed this summer, Avazova said.

As far as the safety of the mains water of the Kura is concerned, basically it is safe because it passes through a purification system. But from a quality point of view, it is better for this water to be boiled.

The situation regarding the transboundary rivers requires a basic and long-term solution. Specialists predict that in years to come countries will be fighting not for oil and gas, but for fresh water. Supplies of drinking water are reducing on the planet every year.