ASPIRED Program Report for Q 2 Year 4 - January - March 2019.pdf

ASPIRED Project

Report Q2 – FY 2019

ADVANCED SCIENCE & PARTNERSHIPS

FOR INTEGRATED RESOURCE

DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

QUARTERLY REPORT

January - March 2019

April 2019

This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International

Development. It was prepared by ME&A, Inc.

Advanced Science & Partnerships for

Integrated Resource Development

QUARTERLY REPORT

SECOND QUARTER FY 2019

April 2019

Contract No.AID-OAA-I-14-00070/AID-111-TO-15-00001

Prepared for:

United States Agency for International

Development

Armenia Mission

1 American Avenue

Yerevan 0082, Armenia

Prepared by:

ME&A, Inc.

4350 East-West Highway

Suite 210

Bethesda, MD 20814

Tel: +1 301 652 4334

Fax: +1 240 630 8935 www.MEandAHQ.com

Armenian Branch of ME&A, Inc.

105/1 Teryan St., Suite 204, Yerevan 0009

Republic of Armenia

Tel. +374 10 514 315

Fax: +374 10 514 317

Email: aspired@engl.com

DISCLAIMER

This report is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States

Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole responsibility of ME&A and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

http://www.meandahq.com/ mailto:aspired@engl.com

Table of Contents

List of Acronyms

1. Executive Summary

1.2 ASPIRED Summary

1.3 Main Highlights from the Reporting Period

2. Summary of Performance Indicators

3. Program Implementation

Water Resource Data

Low Cost and Water Efficiency Technologies

Water Regulation and Enforcement

Donor Coordination and Communications

4. General Administrative Issues

5. Environmental Compliance

6. Existing Problems or Issues

7. Planned Activities for the Next Quarter

List of Acronyms

AHGW Arc Hydro Groundwater

ASPIRED Advanced Science and Partnerships for Integrated Resource Development

ATTC Aquaculture Technology Transfer Center

AAB Ararat Artesian Basin

BMO Basin Management Organization

BMP Basin Management Plan

CADI Computer Assisted Development, Inc.

CoP Chief of Party

COR Contracts Officer’s Representative

DO Development objective

DSS Decision Support System

EA Environmental Assessment

EC European Commission

EE/RE Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy

EGO Economic Growth Office

EIA Environmental Impact Assessments

EMIC Environmental Monitoring and Information Center SNCO

EMMP Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan

ERGIS Environmental Research and Geographic Information Systems

EU European Union

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization

FAR Fund for Armenian Relief

F2F Farmer to Farmer Project

GIS Geographic Information System

GMS Groundwater modeling system

GOA Government of Armenia

IR Intermediate Result

ITF Interagency Task Force

The Lab U.S. Global Development Lab

LOP Life of project

ME&A ME&A, Inc.

MoA Ministry of Agriculture

MNP Ministry of Nature Protection

MoU Memorandum of Understanding

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

PMP Performance Management Plan

PURE-Water Participatory Utilization and Resource Efficiency of Water

SCADA Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition

SCWS State Committee on Water Systems

SWCIS State Water Cadaster Information System

3D Three-dimensional

TO Task Order

USAID United States Agency for International Development

USGS United States Geological Survey

WRMA Water Resources Management Agency

1. Executive Summary

This report describes the programmatic activities implemented by the Advanced Science and

Partnerships for Integrated Resource Development (ASPIRED) Project during the second quarter of

Year 4 of the project. It covers the period from January 1 through March 31, 2019. The report reviews progress and achievements in each of the project areas during the reporting period, as well as describes planned activities for the next quarter. The report also highlights challenges and actions taken to address these challenges.

1.2 ASPIRED Project Summary

On September 29, 2015, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded

ME&A, Inc. (ME&A) a Task Order to implement the ASPIRED Project under the Water and

Development IDIQ. The purpose of the ASPIRED Project is to support sustainable water resource management and sustainable practices of water users in the Ararat Valley through the use of science, technology, innovation, and partnership initiatives. The ultimate goal is to reduce the rate of groundwater extraction in the Ararat Valley to the sustainable levels.

To this end, the ASPIRED Project focuses on several critical areas:

1. Water Resource Data

2. Technology

3. Regulatory framework/enforcement of laws

4. Coordination across stakeholders

The ASPIRED Project places a strong emphasis on building partnerships with the public and private sectors, research organizations, and international donors to pilot innovative water and energy efficiency technologies, and to promote better water resource monitoring, planning and sustainable management.

1.3 Main Highlights from the Reporting Period

• Data component:

o Completed testing and debugging of the database on Water Use Permitting database of the State Water Cadaster Information System (SWCIS) Data Warehouse o Completed the testing and debugging of the enhanced surface water quality assessment component of the DSS o Fully executed a service agreement with Hybrid Telematica on installation of the remaining sets of flow meters and data loggers on four groundwater wells in the second fishery, owned by Max Fish company o Conducted a 10-day training course on calculation of ecological flow in the rivers of

Armenia for the specialists of the Water Resources Management Agency (WRMA) and

Basin Management Organizations (BMOs), Environmental Impact Expertise Center of the Ministry of Nature Protection (MNP), Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), and the

Inspectorate for Nature Protection and Mineral Resources

• Technology component:

o Selected the sub-contractors and started preparation of the designs for Hovtashat well optimization project and Vedi Urban Irrigaiton Project o Submitted the concept paper of Pokr Vedi Project to USAID

• Legal component:

o Started activities towards development of the method for assessment of self-purification capacity of rivers.

• Communication and Donor Coordination component:

o Presented the interim results and partnerships of the ASPIRED Project at the World

Water Day event on March 22, 2019;

o Hosted the aquaculture expert for the Aquaculture Technology Transfer Center as a result of the partnership with the USAID-funded Farmer to Farmer (F2F) Project.

o Received approval of the All-Armenian Fund (AAF) on co-funding in the Pokr Vedi

Irrigation Project.

http://www.gov.am/en/bodies-under-government/42/

Report Q2 – FY 2019 7

2. Summary of Performance Indicators

Summary of performance indicators for the second quarter of FY 2019 (Year 4 of the project) is presented in the table below. IR 2 indicators consist of annual data that is reported by the end of each fiscal year.

1. MNP with its subdivisions, PEER grantee, Institute of Water Problems, USGS, EU Water Initiatives Project, MOA, Metsamor power plant which are/were involved in the data collection process, fisheries: Alex Grig, Interaqua, Golden Fish and in a fishery owned by Max Fish.

Indicator

Year 4

Target/

Actual

Actual

Quarter 2 of

Year 4

LOP

Target/Actual

Notes: Descriptions/Comments/Assumptions

IR 1: Establish a comprehensive, user-friendly, open data system that is accessible to all stakeholders.

Sub-IR 1.1: Ararat Valley Geocoded, real-time, publicly accessible data system that incorporates water resource, groundwater, and hydrological datasets from multiple stakeholders built and shared with the GOA

Indicators

1.1.1 Percent (of total) of datasets for the

Ararat Valley publicly accessible 20/0 0 80/43

This indicator refers to the datasets related to the water resources in the Ararat Valley which will be accessible for the general public. By the end of the project life cycle, ASPIRED will make 80% of all datasets available on Ararat Valley public, which accounts for 100% of all the data that can be available to the public according to the Armenian legislation.

1.1.2 Percent (of total) wells mapped in the

Ararat Valley.

N/A N/A

100/100%

This indicator corresponds to the inventory of the wells, natural springs and fish farms in Ararat

Valley, which the project team successfully completed during Year 1. Therefore, collecting data for this indicator has been completed for the project.

1.1.3 Number of stakeholders engaged in the

data collection activities 1/1 1 16/131

This indicator refers to the number of stakeholders engaged in the groundwater-related data collection activities in the Ararat Valley from different sectors – government, private, and public.

ASPIRED started installation of the flow meters and data loggers in a fishery owned by Max Fish.

Sub-IR 1.2: An online tool for hydrogeological modelling and decision-support for the Ararat Valley that incorporates hydrologic, economic, energy, social equity and environmental data generated

Indicators

Report Q2 – FY 2019 8

2 The ASPIRED team installed online groundwater use monitoring systems in Alex Grig, Interaqua, and Golden Fish during Year 3.

3 During the latest inventory of the groundwater wells, natural springs and fish farms of the Ararat Valley, ASPIRED inventoried a total of 2807 wells in the Ararat Valley, of which 1795 were found to be operational.

Out of 1795 functioning wells, 336 are reportedly located in the fisheries of Ararat and Armavir marzes.

4 The data refers to the Water Reuse Project in Hayanist and the Well Sealing and Well Optimization Projects in Sipanik village

5Refers to water savings to be achieved by the ASPIRED Project by year 5.

6 This includes total amount of savings generated from ASPIRED pilot projects over 5 years.

1.2.1 GIS-based decision support tools for

Ararat Valley developed 1/0 0 2/1

This indicator refers to the GIS-based water resource management tools to be developed by the

ASPIRED Project on the Ararat Valley. ASPIRED completed the Hydrological Model of the DSS for the Ararat Valley during Quarter 4 of Year 3. The project anticipates completion of the Groundwater

Flow Model for the Ararat Valley by the end of Year 4.

Sub-IR 1.3: A publicly accessible system that maximizes the use of open source technology and produces reports based on high-quality, real-time monitoring data created

Indicators

1.3.1 Number of fisheries with automatic data

system installed 1/1 1 6/42

Following the recommendation by the MNP, ASPIRED is currently installing the remaining set of flow meters and data loggers at a fishery owned by Max Fish.

Sub-IR 1.4: Plan for decentralized, sustainable data collection methods to monitor groundwater resources and strengthened implementation capacities of partners developed in partnership with the

Government of Armenia (GOA) and local stakeholders

Indicators

1.4.1 Percent (of total) coverage of the

groundwater extraction points monitored 1.7/1.2 1.2 10/6.5

This indicator measures the percentage of the groundwater extraction wells monitored with the use of the online automated system installed by the ASPIRED Project versus the total number of the operational groundwater wells available in the fisheries3. By July 2018, ASPIRED installed groundwater monitoring systems on 19 water use points. This indicator also includes three (3) systems installed under the European Union’s Water Initiative + Project.

IR 2: Introduce locally appropriate, cost effective technologies to improve water resource management

Sub-IR 2.1: Technologies developed, piloted, and evaluated at different-sized fish farms with the objective of improving water resources management

Indicators

2.1.1

Number of groundwater extraction reduction technologies piloted and evaluated

4/0 0 7/34

This indicator refers to technologies introduced at fish farms or other water use points that contribute to the reduction of the groundwater extraction by users. This indicator also provides information on annual water saved, measured in cubic meters.

2.1.2 Thousands of cubic meters of water saved

annually in Ararat Valley 8,777/0 0 92005/8,3856

This indicator measures the amount of water savings from the demonstration of innovative water saving technologies by the ASPIRED Project at fish farms and other water use points, as well as the implementation of water rehabilitation projects in the communities of the Ararat Artesian Basin

(AAB) affected by the shortage of groundwater resource (in collaboration with PURE-Water Project).

Report Q2 – FY 2019 9

7 LOP data refers to energy savings during the two years of operations following completion of Hayanist project (24 MWh/year).

8 Year 4 data refers to GHG emissions reductions from farmlands in Hayanist & Sayat-Nova projects, solar installations at Masis-Dzuk, Vedi, and ATTC and GHG reductions from Yeghegnut and Aratashen energy savings.

9 Data refers to Hayanist, Sayat-Nova, and Sipanik projects starting from the date of their completion to date.

10 The LOP data refers to the beneficiaries of the two water reuse projects in Hayanist and Sayat-Nova, as well as the well optimization project in Sipanik.

11 ASPIRED will conduct pre- and post-implementation water tests to detect the qualitative changes in water.

12 Initially, this indicator referred only to the drinking water supply projects. Following the recommendation of USAID, ASPIRED will collect data from all water supply projects (both potable and irrigation water supply) which resulted in the improved service quality for the beneficiaries.

The annual data for Year 4 counts also recurrent savings provided by completed water projects

(Hayanist 1.1 mln, Sipanik well sealing 1.9 mln, Sayat-Nova 1.92mln, and Sipanik well optimization

465,000), which will be reported during the last quarter of Year 4 upon completion of the program year. Projections include projects in Aratashen and Yeghegnut, Hovtashat, Vedi and Pokr Vedi

Projects.

Sub-IR 2.2: Technologies with the objective of increasing energy efficiency and/or renewable energy generation of water users developed, piloted, and evaluated

Indicators

2.2.1

Number of energy efficiency and/or renewable energy (EE/RE) technologies piloted and evaluated

3/0 0 4/0

This indicator refers to water-use related EE/RE technologies to be piloted during project implementation. ASPIRED will install renewable technologies at the Aquaculture Technology

Transfer Center (ATTC) and Vedi Urban Irrigation Project. Data for this indicator will be available after completion of the ATTC Project and Vedi Urban Irrigation Project.

2.2.2 Megawatt hour of energy saved annually 453/0 0 500/487

This indicator refers to the kilowatt-hour energy savings generated due to more efficient use of energy. Recurrent savings generated by completed projects are counted in the subsequent years and will be reported on an annual basis upon completion of the programmatic year. Year 4 projections are based on ATTC, Aratashen, Yeghegnut, and other ongoing pilot projects.

2.2.3 Clean energy generated annually, MWh 82/0 0 82/0

This indicator refers to the clean energy generation capacity resulting from the introduction of RE technologies aimed at minimizing extraction of the groundwater. The data of this indicator depends on the implementation of EE/RE technologies, tracked under Indicator 2.2.1.

2.2.4

Gains in the reduction of GHG emissions as a result of USG assistance, in metric tons

1,4148/0 0 1440/472.49

GHG emission reduction quantities are estimated based on the kilowatt hour of savings resulting from application of energy saving technologies in metric tons/year. Since the 4th quarter of Year 3, ASPIRED, in concurrence with USAID, started counting the CO2 reductions resulting from irrigated farmlands of the implemented projects data for this indicator is reported on an annual basis.

2.2.5

Number of people receiving improved service quality from an existing basic or safely managed water service as a result of USG assistance.

9814/0 0

12000/98610

(500 women;

486 men)

This indicator tracks qualitative improvements11 of the water resource resulting from the infrastructure projects implemented by ASPIRED12. The term “water users” refers to households, local farmers, and other groups benefitting from these improvements. (Gender disaggregated whenever possible). Data on Aratashen and Yeghegnut will be reported upon completion of the projects.

Report Q2 – FY 2019 10

13 The results refer to Sipanik community, water reuse projects in Hayanist and Sayat-Nova communities, including communities and the fish-farm owners. Based on the results of Hayanist and Sayat-Nova projects (a) two communities avoided drilling of wells for irrigation needs; (b) two fisheries, Samvel Lablajyan’s fish farm and Masis Dzuk fishery, became more efficient water users.

14 Aeration technology piloted Masis Dzuk fish-farm; Hayanist water reuse project; Sayat-Nova irrigation; Sipanik well sealing project; and Sipanik well optimization project.

15 The training on the ecological flow calculation method in January 2019.

2.2.6 Number of water users experiencing

improved efficiency of water resources 7/0 0 13/513

This indicator tracks improved efficient use of water resulting from the pilot projects implemented under the ASPIRED Project. Examples of such projects can potentially reduce water abstraction by fish farms due to new technologies installed. Year 4 data refers to the ATTC fish farm, and the community projects, including those implemented in Hovtashat, Yeghegnut, Aratashen, Vedi, Pokr

Vedi, and Khachpar.

Sub-IR 2.3: Based on the pilot process and available research, recommendations developed for successful water and energy technologies for policy-makers and stakeholders shared

Indicators

2.3.1

Number of successful technologies recommended and shared with the stakeholders and policy-makers

6/0 0 11/514 ASPIRED will pilot at least six technologies by the end of the project as well as conduct an evaluation and provide recommendations during Year 5 of the project.

Sub-IR 2.4: Technology or method to permanently close illegal and/or abandoned wells, developed, piloted, and evaluated

Indicators

2.4.1

Number of piloted technologies to permanently close illegal or abandoned wells

1/0 0 3/2 ASPIRED initially planned to pilot at least two well optimization/sealing projects during Year 3.

During Year 3 Quarter 4, the ASPIRED completed the well optimization project in Sipanik village.

IR 3: Introduce new policies and regulations to improve integrated water resource management.

Sub-IR 3.1: Trainings to build groundwater monitoring capabilities, capacity strengthening, and knowledge of how to use equipment; and follow-up assessments to test knowledge on groundwater monitoring and analysis of the basin management organizations (BMOs) and relevant water management agency officials to improve enforcement.

Indicators

3.1.1 Number of trainings for building capacity

of MNP in groundwater monitoring 1/0 0 6/4

This indicator refers to trainings on the enhanced up-to-date State Water Cadaster Information

System (SWCIS) and Management Information System (MIS) for the Ararat Valley and on enhanced transparent water use permitting, control, oversight systems and decision support tools.

3.1.2

Number of people educated on tools, approaches, and/or methods for water security, integrated water resource management, water source protection and sustainable water use as a result of

USG assistance.

25/16 (7 women; 9 men)

(7 women;

9 men)

126/108

(24 women and 84 men)

This indicator refers to trainings on enhanced up-to-date SWCIS and MIS for the Ararat Valley;

enhanced transparent water use permitting, control, and oversight systems; and environmental compliance procedures and efficient water use trainings for the beneficiaries of the communities.

This indicator is not cumulative and is reported on a quarterly basis. In January 2019, ASPIRED conducted the ecological flow calculation training.

Report Q2 – FY 2019 11

16 The expert opinion on (1) program of measures in national Water code to USAID; (2) the Strategy for Policy and Regulatory Improvements and a Road Map for Improved Participatory Management of Water

Resources developed under USAID’s PURE Project; (3) the draft Government decree on establishment of the requirements for the protection of water resources in the recreational zones submitted to the MNP.

17 The indicator refers to partnerships with the communities of Aratashen, Hovtashat, Vedi, and F2F Project. No data for the Yeghegnut pilot project was reported during Quarter 2, since the project is currently on hold and the ASPIRED team is discussing next steps with the village council.

Sub-IR 3.2: Rigorous, evidence-based analysis of optimal water fee levels completed, shared with engaged stakeholders and recommendations provided to the GOA

3.2.1

Number of workshops and consultations with stakeholders to discuss water fee levels

N/A N/A 9/9 The target for this indicator was met during Year 2 /Quarter 2; therefore, ASPIRED has completed data collection under this indicator for the project.

Sub-IR 3.3: Water permitting monitoring and enforcement measures assessed and publicly available and recommendations, including development of regulations, provided to the GOA.

Indicators

3.3.1

Package of recommendations to address water permitting monitoring and enforcement measures provided to GOA.

2/1 0 4/316 This indicator refers to the package of recommendations that the ASPIRED Project drafted and submitted to the GOA.

IR: Ensure communications and coordination with stakeholders to avoid duplication of efforts

Sub:IR: 4.1 Systems-mapping to gain and apply knowledge of points of influence, incentives, and resources of stakeholders in water and the water-energy nexus completed and shared

Indicators

4.1.1

Number of international and local organizations participating in the system mapping activities

1/1 1 26/25

This indicator refers to newly identified stakeholders and points of influence in water and water-energy nexus for the ASPIRED Project. The ASPIRED Project identified the All-Armenian Fund

(AAF) as a donor of energy and water saving projects.

4.1.2

Number of partnerships made by

ASPIRED with other organizations

3/417 2 16/17

This indicator refers to partnerships, collaboration with other public and private sector organizations, donor projects for the implementation of joint projects, and/or other initiatives contributing to the accomplishment of ASPIRED objectives. Quarter 2 data refers to the partnership with the F2F Project and Vedi town.

Sub-IR 4.2: A transformative partnerships model to respond to needs for research, pilots, analysis and other coordinated efforts that is demand-driven, flexible, and has a plan for financial sustainability created

Report Q2 – FY 2019 12

18 This figure represents the actual cost-share of partners (Coca-Cola HBC, ERGIS and Hayanist community –for Hayanist project; VALML LLC for Sipanik, Sipanik community for well optimization; Partnerships for

Rural Development Project (PRP), Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) and Sayat-Nova community for water reuse project in Sayat-Nova) versus the total cost of the projects. Since the ASPIRED Project has different share in different projects, the total percentage of the leveraged funding may be lower than that for a particular year.

19 The results refer to the population size of Sipanik, Hayanist, and Sayat-Nova communities versus the total size of the population in the AAB.

20 This figure refers to (1) ASPIRED completed the inventory of groundwater wells, and springs in September 2016. (2) USAID presented two reports to the GOA - Achieving Sustainable Groundwater Use in the

Ararat Valley: the Role of the Fisheries Sector and the Final Report on the Inventory of Groundwater Wells, Natural Springs, and Fisheries of the Ararat Valley; (3) ASPIRED was involved into the Interagency Task

Force (ITF) established by the Prime-Minister’s assignment in January-February 2017. In May 2017, the Armenian Prime-Minister Karen Karapetyan approved the Program of Measures for Efficient Management of the

Groundwater Resources of Ararat Valley. Developed with the expertise and data support of the ASPIRED Project, the Program envisages an array of regulatory, legislative, institutional and technical measures for a more rational use of water in the Ararat Valley for different purposes such as fish farming, irrigation, drinking, and drainage system; (4) ASPIRED implements pilot projects aimed at improving water management on by the communities, fish-farmers. (5) Installation of the automated online groundwater use monitoring system in the fisheries of the Ararat Valley; and (6) hydrological model of the decision support system (DSS); (7)

3D model of the Ararat Valley groundwater basin, (8) Capacity building activities.

21 The LOE result includes six fisheries with improved water management practices: four have been equipped with online monitoring systems and three fish-farms participate in the infrastructure projects – ATTC and water reuse for irrigation (Lablajyan and Masis Dzuk).

22 The LOP data refers to the (1) practice of the secondary use of outlet water from fisheries for irrigation purposes, which has never been practiced at a community scale; (2) well sealing/optimization activities; (3) the

ATTC; (4) installation of the online monitoring system in the fisheries; (5) decision support tools developed by the ASPIRED Project.

4.2.1

Percent of total funding leveraged from stakeholders for water resources management activities.

35/0 0 35/3018

This indicator refers to the total in-kind and financial contribution by ASPIRED partners versus the total contribution of the ASPIRED Project for a given year. Targets are not cumulative and refer to a specific year of the project cycle. The figures on current projects will be reported after their completion and adjustment of the cost share figures.

1. Portfolio-level indicators

5.1 Percent of population living in targeted

areas with improved water management

41.8

(women: 4.2;

men: 4)/0

52/8.219

(women –

4.2%; men -

4%)

The geographical target area is the Ararat Artesian Basin (AAB), a territory of 13,075 hectares with a population of 58,373 people (28,392 men; 30,345 women).

5.2

Number of key implementation steps taken to improve water management in the Ararat Valley

2/2 2 10/820

This indicator refers to policy, analysis, and other activities targeted towards improvement of water data-related activities, including training and pilot projects. The result refers to the 3D model of the

Ararat Valley groundwater basin, developed by the ASPIRED Project and the training and consultations in Ecological Flow calculation for the WRMA and BMOs of the MNP.

5.3

Number of private sector firms that have improved management practices or technologies as a result of USG assistance

2/1 1 9/721

This indicator refers to (a) the number of fisheries with automated groundwater use monitoring systems installed; and (b) fisheries which have adopted innovative water or energy efficiency

(including renewable) technologies.

5.4 Number of innovations supported

through USG assistance.

1/1 1 5/522

Innovative technologies, management/monitoring tools or practices introduced by the ASPIRED team in fish farms, at water use points and/or communities of Ararat Valley which contribute to the reduction of the groundwater use.

Report Q2 – FY 2019 13

23 Replication of the water reuse project in Hovtashat community (with assistance from ERGIS NGO) and Sayat-Nova community.

5.5

Number of innovations supported through USG assistance with demonstrated uptake by private and/or public sector firms

1/0 0 4/223

This indicator refers to the uptake/replication by the public and/or private sectors of projects, technologies, innovations and/or practices introduced by the ASPIRED Project at fish farms, water use points, and/or communities of the Ararat Valley. Hovtashat community initiated the well optimization project. ASPIRED will report the pilot project results, upon the project’s completion.

3. Program Implementation

3.1Water Resource Data

SWCIS Enhancement

In January and February, ASPIRED completed testing and debugging of the database on Water Use

Permitting database of the SWCIS Data Warehouse. ASPIRED met with the personnel of the Water

Use Permitting division of the WRMA to discuss the issue of populating the database with the real data and generating queries and reports. In March, ASPIRED discussed the integration of the actual water use database into the SWCIS Data Warehouse with the Inspectorate for Nature Protection and Mineral

Resources and the actual water use annual reporting formats with the Information-Analytic Service of the Environmental Monitoring and Information Center (EMIC) of the MNP. Based on these discussions, the ASPIRED team started designing the new component of the SWCIS Data Warehouse that will incorporate the actual water use data and provide linkages to the water use permitting data for further comparisons. This task also includes building new annual reports on actual water use based on the templates provided by the Inspectorate.

The ASPIRED Project’s Data Specialist participated in interviews conducted by the USAID-funded

Participatory Utilization and Resource Efficiency of Water (PURE-Water) Project with the candidates for a web developer who will develop a simplified platform for online submission of applications for water use permits. The selected web developer will work jointly with ASPIRED Project’s database programmer on the implementation of the platform and provision of linkages to the SWCIS Data

Warehouse.

Decision Support Tools

During the reporting period, the ASPIRED team continued calibrating the decision support tools for the Ararat Valley. Specifically, the ASPIRED Project completed the following tasks:

DSS:

• Completed the testing and debugging of the enhanced surface water quality assessment component of the DSS. This module allows qualitative classification of the surface waters of the

Ararat Valley by using surface water monitoring data. The module also allows assessing the surface water resources based on their suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes, using the water quality norms defined by the Armenian legislation for drinking water and norms for irrigation recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization. The ASPIRED team summarized the datasets and methods used for classification and assessment of surface water resources into a technical description to be further included into the DSS User Manual.

• Re-programmed the ecological flow calculation component of the advanced version of the DSS based on the new methodology adopted in 2018. The component will provide automatic calculations of ecological flow values for the given year for any of the rivers in the Ararat

Valley. The component is a prerequisite for calculation of the water supply and demand balance of the Ararat Valley.

• Initiated calibration of the Climate Change Model of the DSS for the Ararat Valley for analysis of changes in climatic and hydrologic parameters in the project area, for the periods of 1961-

1990 and 1990-2017. ASPIRED received datasets from the Armenian State Hydro-

Meteorological Service for seven meteorological stations in the Ararat Valley: Ararat, Artashat, Armavir, Urtsadzor, Ashtarak, Yerevan Agro, Yerevan Arabkir, and the Aragats high mountainous meteo-station. The project team processed and used the data in the calibration process.

Groundwater modeling tools

The ASPIRED team is currently developing the numeric groundwater flow model for the Ararat Valley, which builds on the 3D model completed in 2018 using Arc Hydro Groundwater (AHGW) software.

Particularly, the team transferred the lithological structure of the Ararat Valley groundwater basin from the AHGW software to the groundwater modeling system (GMS), mapped the data on surface and groundwater inflow to the Ararat Valley groundwater basin in GMS and proceeded with constructing the two- and three-dimensional) numeric grids for the main hydrogeological units of the basin. These are consequent steps of modeling groundwater flow in GMS using MODFLOW tools.

In February, the ASPIRED team facilitated a conference call with specialists from the US Geological

Service (USGS) Dakota Office and EMIC. Participants discussed questions by the Armenian specialists on the Hydrogeologic Framework published by the USGS in 2018, as well as technical questions on the next steps of developing groundwater flow model for the Ararat Valley.

Introduction of the automated online system for groundwater use monitoring

In February, ASPIRED fully-executed a service agreement with Hybrid Telematica on installation of the remaining sets of flow meters and data loggers on four groundwater wells in the second fishery, owned by Max Fish company. The agreement is based on the technical and cost proposals for implementation of the required works that ASPIRED received from Hybrid Telematica in January.

In March, during preparatory works for installation of steel protective cases on the wells’ casing, the fishery owner expressed concerns to ASPIRED and Hybrid Telematica regarding the welding the steel chambers around the wells casing, as it envisaged in the technical proposal. Due to concerns that the steel boxes would damage the well casing and pose high risks for the fish stock, representatives of the

ASPIRED Project, Hybrid Telematica, and Max Fishery agreed on an alternative solution of preparing dry chambers around the wells casing with stone masonry, provided with insulation and mechanical pump. This new solution will be implemented at the expense of the farm owner and he will assume the further maintenance of the chamber. The ASPIRED team and Hybrid Telematica provided the exact requirements for the dry protective case, and the farm owner agreed on building the dry chambers by mid-April 2019. At the time of preparing this report, the sub-contractor built two of the dry chambers.

Based on the visual inspection conducted by the ASPIRED team and Hybrid Telematcia, the dry chambers are suitable for protection of flow meters. ASPIRED extended the terms of Service Agreement with Hybrid Telematica through April 2019.

Preparing the Ararat Valley Atlas:

During the reporting period, the ASPIRED team worked on designing the Ararat Valley Atlas. The

Atlas will incorporate all the spatial data and information that is gathered since the start of the

ASPIRED Project, as well as relevant data and information available at the various stakeholder agencies.

Once the Atlas is finalized, the ASPIRED team plans to publish and present the Atlas to the large group of stakeholders, as well as distribute both hard copies and electronic copies during the last year of the

ASPIRED Project.

In February-March, the Project team drafted the initial outline of the Atlas and consulted with relevant stakeholders on the outline and format of the Atlas. In letters sent to the key government agencies, ASPIRED described the initial outline of the Atlas, data, and information ASPIRED intends including in the Atlas, as well as requested the types of data and information each of the agencies could provide for the Atlas. Meetings and consultation with the stakeholders will start during the next reporting period.

Interns

During the reporting period, the ASPIRED Project recruited interns to help the team with the data collection, processing, and analysis, as well as to support decision-making on water resources. To facilitate the interns’ selection process, the ASPIRED team collaborated with Yerevan State University’s

Alumni and Career Center on disseminating the announcement to university students. On February

20, the team presented the main objectives of the ASPIRED Project, the activities within the data component, and the application requirements for the Data Analyst Internship. The ASPIRED team answered the questions of prospective applicants to the internship.

In March, following interviews with seven applicants, the ASPIRED team selected Nara Mnatsakayan and Inga Siradeghyan as the most successful candidates for the internship. Starting in April, both candidates will be working with the ASPIRED team for six-to-ten months on preparation of datasets for hydrological calculations and various analyses, using the DSS and groundwater modeling software.

Additional assistance to the MNP

In January, the ASPIRED team conducted a ten-day training course on calculation of ecological flow in the rivers of Armenia. Sixteen specialists representing the WRMA and BMOs, Environmental Impact

Expertise Center of the MNP, MOA, Inspectorate for Nature Protection and Mineral Resources were provided with in-depth knowledge and skills required for calculation of the ecological flow in rivers of

Armenia, using ArcGIS and MS Excel software. The course combined both theory and practice, with course content including a general overview of the data management, GIS systems, and general hydrology, followed by methods to determine monthly and annual ecological flow values of both studied and unstudied rivers of Armenia, using Arpa River as a case study. ASPIRED provided all participants with the user manual, the template file in MS Excel format, and the geodatabase (the GIS files) needed for the calculation of the ecological flow.

The ASPIRED Hydrologist continued facilitating on-the-job training for the deputy head of the Water

Cadastre and Monitoring Division of the WRMA on calculating ecological flow in the rivers of

Armenia. ASPIRED team members provided approximately 20 hours of individual coaching during this quarter.

ASPIRED GIS Specialist Aram Gevorgyan conducting the training.

Site visit to prior to installation of the flow meters and data loggers at the fishery belonging to Max Fish fishery.

Report Q2 – FY 2019 18

3.2 Low Cost and Water Efficiency Technologies

The table below summarizes the status of the pilot projects as of March 31, 2019. As of the end of the reporting period, ASPIRED has completed four pilot projects and five projects are currently in progress.

Project Name/

Technology

Status Total cost, USD

ASPIRE

D cost-share, USD

Partner cost-share, USD

Partner

Hayanist irrigation rehabilitation project

Completed in April 2017 131,705

89,524

27,212 Coca Cola HBC

11,269 ERGIS

3,700 Hayanist community

Sipanik well sealing project Completed in August 2017 51,546 47,823 3,723 VALML LLC

Sipanik well optimization project

Completed in September 2018 24,554 22,002 2,552 Sipanik community

Sayat-Nova water reuse project

Completed in September 2018.

124,871 80,409

20,876

Partnership for

Rural Prosperity

Project

14,395 Fund for Armenian

Relief

Report Q2 – FY 2019 19

Project Name/

Technology

Status Total cost, USD

ASPIRE

D cost-share, USD

Partner cost-share, USD

Partner

16,420 Sayat-Nova community

Aquaculture

Technology

Transfer

Center (ATTC)

Ongoing

• In February, ASPIRED brought the aquaculture expert to provide consultations to the ATTC owner and the ASPIRED engineering team on ATTC’s current operational capacities and recommend steps towards improvement of the facilities. The expert made several site visits and conducted meetings with the owner of Armavir Farmer fishery accompanied by the ASPIRED and F2F Project staff. USAID COR joined the team during one of the site visits.

• ASPIRED and the Armavir Farmer owner are discussing the next steps to be made both by the

Project and the ATTC owner to ensure the operation of the site, i.e. to populate the fish and crayfish ponds.

• ASPIRED compiled the list of the additional equipment and clarified with the owner of the fishery the responsibilities of each party.

178,028 114,542 63,486 Armavir Farmer

LLC

Yeghegnut community water supply project

Ongoing

The sub-contractor completed construction of the chlorination and pumping stations, fenced the perimeter, repaired the well casing, and completed grading and improvement of the area.

The construction of the network is on hold due to the delay in the announcement of the tender for the trenchwork services by the community.24

120,809 79,777 41,032 Yeghegnut community

Aratashen community water supply project

Ongoing

The sub-contractor completed construction of the chlorination and pumping stations, fenced the perimeter, repaired the well casing, completed grading and improvement of the area.

Over this period, the ASPIRED started the network construction. By the reported period, around

80% of all the pipework is over.

125,365 87,455 37,910 Aratashen community

24 See Section 6. Existing Problems or Issues for more details.

Report Q2 – FY 2019 20

Project Name/

Technology

Status Total cost, USD

ASPIRE

D cost-share, USD

Partner cost-share, USD

Partner

Hovtashat well optimization project

Ongoing

ASPIRED conducted the tender for the network design and selected the local sub-contractor who is currently working on the assignment. The sub-contractor plans to submit the network design during the next reporting period.

43,539 28,587 14,952 Hovtashat community

Vedi urban irrigation project

Ongoing

USAID approved the project on February 1. During the reporting period, the ASPIRED team announced the tender for the design and selected the sub-contractor to work on the assignment.

The deadline for submission of the design blueprint is May.

147,538 59,632 87,906 Vedi Municipality

TOTAL 955,185 609,752 345,433

Drinking water pipework in Aratashen community. Village residents backfilling the trenches near their homes.

Design of New Projects

The ASPIRED Project finalized the concept paper of the irrigation project in Pokr Vedi and submitted it to USAID for review. The concept paper includes the cost-share of the All-Armenian Fund, who has agreed to cover nearly 50% of the total project cost. USAID approval of the Pokr Vedi project is pending since the PURE-Water Project is currently preparing the environmental review documents for USAID’s review.

During the reporting period, the ASPIRED team inspected two wells in Masis region recommended by the MNP as potential sealing projects. The site visit revealed that both wells had users and their sealing might be problematic. In consultation with the COR after a follow-up visit, the ASPIRED team decided to assess the feasibility of project implementation after the MNP terminates the water extraction by the existing users.

3.3 Water Regulation and Enforcement

During the reporting period, the ASPIRED Project coordinated the activities of the experts and the working group on the development of the method for assessment of self-purification capacity of rivers.

By the end of the quarter, the team completed the following task:

• Completed the requirement of experts and final composition of the working group, consisting of the representatives of the MNP, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the local experts

• Finalized the list of hydrobiological, hydro-morphological, and chemical parameters subject to sampling and the timing of measurements.

• Selected Qasakh River as the pilot river for the elaboration of the method.

• Received the draft analysis of the international practice on self-purification methods.

During the kick-off meeting on February 15, the members of the working group selected the Qasakh

River basin as the pilot river for testing the method, taking into consideration the water quality, hydrological, biological, and hydro-morphological characteristics of rivers. During the follow-up meetings, the working group agreed on the schedule of the site visits and the details of sampling. The team conducted field visits on February 22 and March 6, during which the working group visited nine hydrological observation and sampling points (seven during the first field visit and two during the second visit) and fixed their coordinates with the GPS device.

The ASPIRED Project sent cost inquiries to the local organizations that can potentially perform the water sampling and analysis from the selected observation points based on the predefined parameters.

On March 15, the ASPIRED Project conducted meetings with the management staff from EMIC and

Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology of the National Academy of Sciences, who provided their cost estimates on sampling and analysis.

By the end of the reporting period, the experts presented the draft analysis of the internationally applied self-purification methods to be discussed further among the working group members during the next quarter.

The members of the working group selecting observation points on Qasakh River Basin.

3.4 Donor Coordination and Communications

During the reporting period, the ASPIRED and F2F teams worked with international aquaculture expert Gerard Pinto, who provided advisory services to the ATTC Project. Mr. Pinto prepared a report with the recommendations on additional steps and equipment needed to improve the technical facilities of the ATTC. The expert also improved the Crawfish Manual, which was prepared by the Birthright

Volunteer Talene Baghdassarian during a three-month assignment in 2017. ASPIRED translated the documents and provided them to the owner of Armavir Farmer.

In February, ASPIRED received a commitment from the All-Armenian Fund (AAF) to provide funding for the irrigation project in Pokr Vedi. In April, the ASPIRED team will prepare the bilateral agreement between the ASPIRED Project and the AAF after the approval of Pokr Vedi Irrigation Project by

USAID.

On March 14, the representatives of the AAF and ASPIRED Project met with USAID/Armenia’s

Mission Director Deborah Grieser to discuss collaboration opportunities between AAF and USAID on a more global level. AAF expressed interest in co-funding infrastructure projects that contain innovative components. To this end, the ASPIRED Project engineer compiled a list of six potential projects where AAF’s contribution would help upscale the projects.

On February 6, ASPIRED met with the newly appointed Governor of Armavir region, Hambardzum

Matevosyan, to present the USAID-funded water sector projects in the province and discuss possible support of the regional government in community infrastructure projects. As a follow-up, the governor’s office arranged a meeting between the mayor and local council members of Yeghegnut with participation of the ASPIRED and PURE-Water Project representatives to discuss the delay in trenchwork implementation.

On March 21 and 22, the ASPIRED team participated in a two-day seminar on Best Practice in the

Ararat Valley Fish Farming, organized by the PURE-Water Project and International Center for

Agribusiness Research and Education. The seminar covered an evaluation of the best water management practices in small fish-farms, including the stories about secondary use of water for irrigation in Hayanist and Sayat-Nova communities as successful case studies. During the event, the

ASPIRED team presented an overview of the groundwater resources of the Ararat Valley, the results of recent studies and the water-saving projects.

Communications and Outreach:

During the reporting period, the team marked ’s World Water Day on March 22. The purpose of the event was to present the interim results of the project for the period 2015-2019, as well as showcase the joint activities with the partner organizations aimed to protection of the groundwater resources in the

Ararat Valley. Event attendees included key government stakeholders, the project partners, and non-governmental and academic institutions representing the water sector. USAID/Armenia’s Mission

Director Deborah Grieser and the Minister of Nature Protection, Erik Grigoryan also attended the event. During World Water Day, the ASPIRED Project presented the 3D model of the groundwater basin and the computer-based Decision Support System– the tools to aid in more informed decision making on the groundwater management in the Ararat Valley. The event enjoyed extensive media coverage․25

The ASPIRED team prepared the event agenda, press release, list of invitees, invitation letters, information for Mission Director’s briefer and talking points as well as media advisories. The team sent

25 https://www.shantnews.am/news/view/320585.html; https://www.shantnews.am/news/view/321208.html (at 10։24 min);

https://www.shantnews.am/news/view/320992.html; https://www.shantnews.am/news/view/321096.html;

https://yerevan.today/all/society/29663/6-amsum-jrayin-resursneri-het-kapvats-280-khakhtumner-en-haytnabervel-erik-grigoryan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWHin5c6byo; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utrc1- 8AfeM&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0lDaL8TD5ViRpSnmUlJDShUtYOH-WVY1OVW6fNKcdxVB2Bh48RQ5_70Xc;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IkFr6WtUys; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBypqeZDTN4 (at 1:37 min);

http://news.1tv.am/hy/2019/03/22/%D5%8B%D6%80%D5%AB-

%D5%B0%D5%A1%D5%B4%D5%A1%D5%B7%D5%AD%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%B0%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%AB%D5%B6-

%D6%85%D6%80/114969; https://armenpress.am/arm/news/968453/;

http://arka.am/ru/news/economy/armeniya_s_2015_goda_sekonomila_9_2_mln_kubometrov_podzemnykh_vod/;

https://armeniatv.am/hy/73112-73112; http://mnp.am/am/post/3812;

https://www.shantnews.am/news/view/320585.html https://www.shantnews.am/news/view/321208.html https://www.shantnews.am/news/view/320992.html https://www.shantnews.am/news/view/321096.html https://yerevan.today/all/society/29663/6-amsum-jrayin-resursneri-het-kapvats-280-khakhtumner-en-haytnabervel-erik-grigoryan https://yerevan.today/all/society/29663/6-amsum-jrayin-resursneri-het-kapvats-280-khakhtumner-en-haytnabervel-erik-grigoryan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWHin5c6byo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utrc1-8AfeM&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0lDaL8TD5ViRpSnmUlJDShUtYOH-WVY1OVW6fNKcdxVB2Bh48RQ5_70Xc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utrc1-8AfeM&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0lDaL8TD5ViRpSnmUlJDShUtYOH-WVY1OVW6fNKcdxVB2Bh48RQ5_70Xc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IkFr6WtUys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBypqeZDTN4 http://news.1tv.am/hy/2019/03/22/%D5%8B%D6%80%D5%AB-%D5%B0%D5%A1%D5%B4%D5%A1%D5%B7%D5%AD%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%B0%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%AB%D5%B6-%D6%85%D6%80/114969 http://news.1tv.am/hy/2019/03/22/%D5%8B%D6%80%D5%AB-%D5%B0%D5%A1%D5%B4%D5%A1%D5%B7%D5%AD%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%B0%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%AB%D5%B6-%D6%85%D6%80/114969 http://news.1tv.am/hy/2019/03/22/%D5%8B%D6%80%D5%AB-%D5%B0%D5%A1%D5%B4%D5%A1%D5%B7%D5%AD%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%B0%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%AB%D5%B6-%D6%85%D6%80/114969 https://armenpress.am/arm/news/968453/ http://arka.am/ru/news/economy/armeniya_s_2015_goda_sekonomila_9_2_mln_kubometrov_podzemnykh_vod/ https://armeniatv.