“In Dilijan you just turn on the tap and out flows the water…it’s the second best in the world.” Anyone who has seen the movie Mimino will remember these words. But today, Dilijan’s water can no longer be described that way. Instead, according to Dilijan resident Laura Melkonyan, “You turn on the tap there is muddy water and sometimes even worms.”

The resort city of Dilijan has unspoiled forests, natural springs, and clean air; it also has water problems.

Forty-two-year-old Laura Melkonyan lives in a building by the river with her husband and two sons. There is a tap in front of their building. Te water from that tap is what they use for drinking; but the water that comes out of the faucet at home is only for laundry and cleaning.

“We carry buckets of water up to the fifth floor three times a day. The boys carry it and when they’re not home I have to do it,” Laura explained.

It had been raining in Dilijan for a couple of days, and the river was muddy. Muddy water flowed from the taps, too, until it was shut off completely.

“We get our water according to a fixed schedule then it’s cut off after rain because it’s as dirty as the river water, and we know we’re not going to have water unless the water of the river is clean again,” said Melkonyan’s neighbor, Manya Asatryan. Forty-one-year-old Asatryan lived in Russian for a couple of years. She’s come back recently to live with her family in Dilijan. There were no problems with water in Russia, and so it’s been difficult for her to get adjusted to the conditions in Dilijan. She uses the spring water for drinking and collects water from the tap in big jars. “A couple of minutes after you fill the jar you can see all the dirt on the bottom,” she said.

Dilijan is one of the few cities in Armenia that uses surface water—river water—rather water from underground. And the risk of pollution in surface waters is higher than in underground waters. “The water of Dilijan is filtered in three places, but because all the equipment is old and in need of repair, when floods happen, they don’t manage to filter the water and we are forced to simply shut down the entire central water supply system,” said Kamo Aghababyan of HayJrmughKoyughi.

Dilijan’s problems with its water supply date back to Soviet times. In 2000, the government focused its attention on this problem and started looking for ways to solve it.

“Research shows that the water filtering stations have to be totally rebuilt because the pipes are more than thirty years old. We need to build new basins. There will also be technological cleaning of water, various reagents will be added, the processes of filtering and chloroforming will be improved,” Aghababyan said.

HayJrmughKoyughi also plans to obtain and install water meters.

“If there is water, of course it’s good to have water meters put in and to know what you’re really paying for. But the monthly fee per for water has doubled since January, and now it’s 600 drams,” said Manya Asatryan.

Despite all the problems with water in Dilijan, the last incidence of water poisoning case happened in 1997. There were no deaths. No one drinks water from the faucet at home here, and that’s why the risk of epidemic is not high.

“Recently there was a case of biological pollution; because the pipes were old, sewer waster got mixed into the drinking water,” said environmentalist Arevik Hovsepyan.

The World Bank has recently provided 1.2 million US dollars for the repair of the Dilijan water supply system, but that amount is clearly not enough for the entire project.

“It would take 2.8 million US dollars to completely repair the system. With the money that’s been given, it’s possible to provide only two-thirds of the population of Dilijan with water, since only two of the water filtering stations will be rebuilt,” Kamo Aghababyan explained.

The water supply system will be managed by HayJrmughKoyughi, which is now run by the French company Sor. There was a tender for the design of the project, which was won by a consulting company called Jinj. A tender for construction will be held soon.

“The plan will be ready in two months. If we start the construction work by the end of this year, then we’ll be done in two years maximum,” said Jinj president Eduard Mesropyan.

Dilijan is not the only town with water problems, but the matter is viewed as more urgent here, because it’s a resort town, and its only hope for development is tourism.

Twenty-three-year-old Nora Karapetyan has spent the summer in Dilijan with her family since she was a girl. She washes the dishes with water from the faucet, but rinses them with spring water. But she boils the spring water before she gives it to the children to drink.

“Everything is wonderful here: the nature, the air, and the weather,” Karapetyan said. “But the water is terrible. When I come to Dilijan, I don’t want to think about water.”

Irina Vadachkoria
Photos by Khatia Jijieshvili
Caucasus Media Institute