Arsen Grigoryan

In June of this year, the NGO Armavir made a series of accusations against the company Legend at a press conference (See also: Water Keeps Flowing Through These Pipes). The NGO claimed that Legend had used old, second-hand pipes to connect the water supply system in Armavir and that this was the reason that the drinking water being supplied to the people of Armavir was of poor quality and unsanitary. Legend was aso accused of acquiring and embezzling large amounts of loans.

The Office of the Prosecutor General has been working on this case since June. The Republic of Armenia Expert Center, a state organization, has run the investigation in accordance with a directive from the Prosecutor General. Here are a few interesting details from that investigation. A pipe sample taken from near 17 Shahumyan Street in Armavir contained a layer of rust on its inner surface and areas of decay with a depth of 0.2 mm. The proportion of corrosion was 6.6% for this pipe sample. Another example involved a pipe sample taken from near 15 Jivani Street, which contained a layer of rust on its inner surface and areas of decay constituting a 7.5% proportion of corrosion. A third sample, taken from near 11 Jivani Street had areas of decay with 0.7 mm depth, i.e. 20% corrosion.

The investigation revealed that samples taken from different locations had proportions of corrosion ranging from 5% to 20%, and that in cases where the pipes have been in use for only six months. In the interests of comparison, samples were taken from the old pipes at the same addresses and the level of corrosion did not differ significantly.

Armavir presented a list of objections regarding the Expert Center study to the Office of the Prosecutor General. The document read, in part, "According to architectural and engineering norms, drinking water pipes are allowed to be utilized for a maximum of 25-30 years. Taking into consideration that these new pipes have only been in use for six months and have reached this level of corrosion, as well as assuming that this intensity of corrosion will continue, one can assume that the drinking water supply pipes in the whole city will be unusable within three to four years. We conclude from this directly that these pipes have not corroded within these six months, but rather that they had been used and the corrosion had taken place before they were installed."

The document also noted that the investigators did not discover the original source of the pipes, or whether or not they had certificates. Investigators took pipe samples from areas agreed upon with the company administration, areas that suited the company more. No samples were taken from the new water mains, which are 2.2 km long and 300 mm in diameter and cost 250,000 euros.

It pointed out that the expert conclusion contained serious contradictions and were not justified, the study conducted had not provided exhaustive explanations for the issues raised and the investigators' work had been biased and subjective. The NGO addressed their concerns to the Prosecutor General as follows:

"We ask that you consider the objections presented regarding the study and, appreciating the great importance of this case, request that you once again order an investigation to clarify the following questions." The questions are clearly outlined.

Have the pipes been used before?

How much longer can the pipes with the corrosion levels noted in the conclusion of the study be utilized to supply drinking water?

A suggestion was made that the funds allocated for 1 linear meter of new pipe according to the project should also be noted in comparison to 1 linear meter of used pipe.

Finally, is the drinking water being supplied to Armavir potable?

Armavir sent its objections to the Prosecutor General on October 7, 2005, but has yet to receive a reply.

Misha Mangasaryan, a resident of Armavir, has also appealed to the Prosecutor General. He had earlier witnessed that Legend workers were replacing the city's previous pipes with old rather than not new ones, and had demanded that the installation work be suspended. But the workers ignored his claims and continued work at that spot on 24 Hanrapetutyan Street. During the course of their work, they cut and removed a piece of pipe of around 30 cm in length. Mangasaryan spotted the piece and has kept it to this day, finally presenting it to the Prosecutor General as physical evidence to support his claims. He, too, is still waiting for a reply.