If Veolia has water, it will supply it: Chairman of the Water Committee

“If Veolia Water has water, dear people, it will supply that water,” Chairman of the Water Committee Aramazd Ghalamkaryan said in a conversation with reporters.

“Isn’t it in the interest of the for-profit Veolia Water company to supply more water and make a bigger profit? Of course – it’s a private company, so if it has it, it will supply it,” he added.

Asked how much water is lost and what is being done to prevent it, Ghalamkaryan said losses average about 45% annually.

“Residents of villages along the pipelines to Yerevan, residents of Yerevan, and those in its suburbs begin irrigating with drinking water, but there isn’t enough for that. Naturally, during hot weather there is a shortage,” he noted.

Another factor, he said, is climate change: “There has been a 24% decrease in spring water levels this season.”

He also cited economic growth in Yerevan: “The pace of construction is extremely high, with a large number of new subscribers. We had 600 new subscribers in 2020 and 8,700 in 2025.”

When asked whether such figures could have been forecast in advance, he replied: “Dear people, nature should calculate that – we can’t invent water, can we?”

Reporters countered that the issue was not nature but management, arguing that resources should be assessed in advance and only then should permits be issued for such volumes of construction.