AUA Acopian Center for the Environment Begins EU-Funded Project on Natural Wastewater Treatment Systems

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YEREVAN – The American University of Armenia (AUA)’s Acopian Center for the Environment (AUA ACE) is a partner in an EU-funded Black Sea regional project on natural treatment systems (NTS) for wastewater. The project will advance NTS solutions for rural areas throughout the region, including Armenia. 

As part of this project, AUA ACE will conduct a site-specific study for a village in Armenia to build a constructed wetland or offer other natural-treatment solutions. The project will also enable substantial sharing of knowledge and experience throughout the Black Sea region.

“Untreated wastewater poses serious environmental and public health risks for communities in Armenia,” says Alen Amirkhanian, director of the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment. “Constructed wetlands and other natural treatment systems are considered an affordable solution in many instances. This project will build on the know-how in Armenia to design, build, and operate such systems effectively,” says Amirkhanian.

In late August 2013, Amirkhanian and Asya Avagyan, AUA ACE Operations and Communications Coordinator, attended the Project Kick-Off Meeting in Chisinau, Moldova. Partners in this project come from Greece, Romania, Ukraine, Turkey, Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia.

The project is funded by EU’s Black Sea Cross Border Cooperation Programme and coordinated by the Water and Sewerage Municipal Enterprise of Kavala and the Democritus University of Thrace, both in Greece.

Representatives of partner countries in Chisinau for project kick-off meeting. Asya Avagyan (second from right, second row from bottom) and Alen Amirkhanian (first from right, third row from bottom).

Click here for Armenian language brochure on natural systems for wastewater treatment.
Click here for English language brochure on natural systems for wastewater treatment.