Armenia – Surface Water Monitoring Automated Data Collection

Lake Sevan is an Armenian national treasure that has become an international environmental concern following decades of Soviet Union water resource exploitation. Since the Soviet Union initiated a hydroelectric and irrigation diversion project in the 1930’s the 480 square mile lake has lost 40 percent of it’s volume and the water surface has dropped by nearly 70 feet. International concern for the environmental damage was addressed in the 1990’ and resulted in a World Bank Environmental Action Plan recommending a series of activities to aid restoration of the lake’s water resources. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded the Strengthening Sustainable Water Management for Enhanced Environmental Quality Program in Armenia in order to assist Armenia efforts to restore the water resources of the lake and develop an integrated and sustainable water management program.

Riverside Technology, inc. (RTi) worked under a subcontract with ARD to help establish a sustainable water quality and quantity monitoring program in Armenia. The agency responsible for the collection, quality assurance, and dissemination of water resource data, Armenia’s National Hydrological Program (ARMH), had minimal resources to maintain or modernize the equipment required for water resource monitoring since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The manual hydrological monitoring equipment in Armenia had exceeded its service life, required daily staffing, and the data was difficult to analyze since it was recorded on charts and in logbooks. RTi provided automated water monitoring equipment to upgrade 8 critical hydrological monitoring posts. These stations represent the first fully automated water monitoring stations in Armenia. The digitally collected data will allow ARMH to quickly and accurately evaluate water resources and provide Armenian water users and managers with essential reports in a timelier manner. RTi specialists trained ARMH staff and directed the installation of two fully-automated hydrological stations. These stations are using satellite telemetry to provide real-time water resource data including water stage, air, and water temperature, rainfall and flow velocity. In order to assure sustainability of the installed equipment, RTi provided additional training to ARM staff in all aspects of the automated data acquisition process from equipment installation to data acquisition network operation and data management and analysis.

RTi’s continuing efforts will focus on assisting ARMH staff as they transition from their existing manual and staff intensive program to utilizing automated data acquisition and remote telemetry. RTi will provide additional technical assistance on automated data collection network design, equipment, network operation, and data management.

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