Armenia Water Supply and Sanitation. In-Ho Keum

      

      

Asian Development Bank

       Armenia Water Supply and Sanitation

       Challenges, Achievements, and Future Directions

       In-Ho Keum

      © 2011 Asian Development Bank

      All rights reserved. Published in 2011.

      Printed in the Philippines.

      ISBN 978-92-9092-472-2

      Publication Stock No. BKK114083

      Cataloging-In-Publication Data

      Keum, In-Ho.

      Armenia water supply and sanitation: Challenges, achievements, and future directions.

      Mandaluyong City, Philippines: Asian Development Bank, 2011.

      1. Water supply. 2. Sanitation. 3. Armenia. I. Asian Development Bank.

      The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent.

      ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use.

      By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term “country” in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.

      ADB encourages printing or copying information exclusively for personal and noncommercial use with proper acknowledgment of ADB. Users are restricted from reselling, redistributing, or creating derivative works for commercial purposes without the express, written consent of ADB.

      Note:

      In this publication, “$” refers to US dollars.

      6 ADB Avenue

      Mandaluyong City

      1550 Metro Manila, Philippines

      Tel [phone]

      Fax + 63 2 636 2444

      www.adb.org

      For orders, please contact:

      Department of External Relations

      Fax [phone]

      [email protected]

       Foreword

      Armenia is a country that has taken bold actions to bolster water and sanitation service delivery. One of these actions was outsourcing the management functions to an international operator with a track record and experience in the sector. This measure was accompanied by long-term finance from the Asian Development Bank. Such finance will be used to invest in infrastructure, training, and reforms. This mix of professional management, finance, and reforms has delivered tangible results: coverage is up, quality has improved, and service delivery is more efficient. The work is commendable and the most appropriate way to serve customers. This report shares these experiences. We think they are relevant and meaningful to others in the region.

      

Juan Miranda Director General Central and West Asia Department

       Acknowledgement

      This report benefited from discussions with and review by members of Asian Development Bank’s Water Committee, particularly the Urban Water Stream and the Sanitation Action Group.

       Abbreviations

      AWSC – Armenia Water and Sewerage Company

      NRW – non-revenue water

      O&M – operation and maintenance

      PPP – public–private partnership

      PSRC – Public Service Regulatory Commission

      SCWS – State Committee of Water Systems

      WSS – water supply and sanitation

      YWSC – Yerevan Water and Sewerage Company

       INTRODUCTION

      Armenia is a mountainous country in the South Caucasus area, bordering Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and Turkey. It has a population of around 3 million, with about 64% living in urban areas and the remaining in rural regions of the country.

      With 10.2 billion cubic meters (m³) of water per year on average, of which 2.4 billion m³ is used for drinking purposes, the country indeed has abundant water resources. About 96% of drinking water is groundwater drawn through boreholes, wells, and springs. Most raw water is of good quality and requires only disinfection. The typical drinking water infrastructure includes water intakes, transmission mains, pumping stations, and distribution networks.

      Eduard Chil-Akopyan/Lernik Asatryan

      Typical wastewater infrastructure includes house connections, sewer networks, pumping stations, and wastewater treatment plants. However, since Armenia’s independence in 1991, the deterioration of water supply and sanitation (WSS) infrastructure and service delivery mechanisms has impacted the quality of water, making it a crucial issue on the development agenda. For almost all Armenians, low-pressure water, which sometimes failed to comply with biological water quality standards, was available for only a few hours a day.

      Armenia became a member of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2006. Since 2007, ADB has supported reforms and investments in the country’s WSS sector, working with the government and other international financial institutions and bilateral funding agencies.¹

      The efforts of the government and development partners over the past decade resulted in improved water access, reliability, and quality. The institutional model adopted by Armenia, which combines public investments with private sector operation for the WSS utilities, has led to the country’s achievements.

      This report looks at the challenges, achievements, and the future to facilitate WSS sector reforms in other ADB developing member countries facing similar challenges.

      Eduard Chil-Akopyan/Lernik Asatryan