USAID/Armenia Advanced Science & Partnerships for Integrated Resource Development (ASPIRED) Project is soliciting Bids for the restoration and refurbishment of monitoring well #192 of the National Groundwater Monitoring Network, located in Vardanashen community of Armavir Marz and monitoring well #2063 of the National Groundwater Monitoring Network, located in Dalar community of Ararat Marz, under the project concept Restoration and Refurbishment of Monitoring Wells #192 and # 2063 of the National Groundwater Monitoring Network in the Ararat Valley.
Bidders are invited to submit their Bids in accordance with the Instructions to Bidders provided below.
Bids must be submitted no later than 17:00, Yerevan Time, on April 13, 2021. Each bidder must submit an electronic copy of the bid to aspired@engl.com.
ASPIRED Project will refurbish two groundwater monitoring wells of the National Groundwater Monitoring Network of Armenia located in Vardanashen and Dalar communities. The renovation of the wells is necessary for improving the quality of the groundwater measurements in the Ararat Valley conducted by the Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center (HMC) of the Armenian Ministry of Environment.
The HMC has 109 groundwater points established in six basin management areas, of which 48 points are located in the Ararat Valley. Water measurements on observation points provide information on the state of the groundwater aquifer as well as water parameters and quality. With the use of special equipment, part of which was donated by the ASPIRED Project earlier, HMC specialists can obtain information on the groundwater level in a particular well and monitor water against 40 parameters, including the water temperature, mineralization, hardness, electric conductivity, etc.
The wells in Dalar and Vardanashen communities are both in poor condition and require complete refurbishment, including cleaning of wells, restoration of damaged well structures wherever necessary, replacement of valves and area fencing. In Dalar, the water spillover deluged the area turning it into a swamp and hampering the measurements. ASPIRED will also envisage a sanitary protection zone and protective steel cabins to prevent external access to the well area and possible contamination of aquifers. The photos show the current condition of the wells in Dalar and Vardanashen.
In 2019, the ASPIRED Project refurbished seven observation wells in the feeding zone of the Ararat Valley for inclusion into the National Reference Groundwater Monitoring Network.
USAID/Armenia Advanced Science & Partnerships for Integrated Resource Development (ASPRIED) Project is soliciting Bids for the supply of PE pipes and fittings and provision of pipework, as well as the construction of a valve chamber and an intake chamber under the project concept Improving the Efficiency of Water-supply in Sardarapat Village. Download full IFB document here:
Bids must be submitted no later than 17:00, Yerevan Time, on 8 April 2021. Each bidder must submit one hard copy of the bid to USAID ASPIRED Project office at CITADEL Business Center, 105/1, Teryan Street, Suite 204, Yerevan.
World Water Day is celebrated globally on March 22. The theme for #WorldWaterDay 2021 is “#ValuingWater”, to emphasize the importance of water for human life, health, wellbeing, economy, and environment. In cooperation with the Armenian Ministry of Environment, ASPIRED Project works towards improvement of the water sector legislation in our country. By the request of the Ministry of Environment, our project has developed the draft legal act “On Establishing Requirements for Protection of Water Resources in Recreation Zones of Armenia”, and is currently working on the development of the Method for Assessment of Self-Purification Capacity of Rivers and its enforcement mechanisms. The video highlights the activities behind elaboration of these two regulations and the objectives they will serve. Click on the link to watch the video.
ASPIRED started a new renewable energy project in collaboration with a private fishery near Hovtashat village. ASPIRED Project will help the fishery to install a 30 KW PV kit to minimize the energy consumption.
Having purchased this fishery in 2019, the owner, Artyom Torosyan, have made critical improvements to apply water saving technologies for more efficient use of water. In consultation with the ASPIRED engineering team, Artyom Torosyan introduced water recirculation system, replicating the technologies piloted by the ASPIRED Project at the Aquaculture Technologies Transfer Center. Artyom Torosyan’s fishery uses air lift pumps for enriching water with oxygen and passive settlers for sludge removal.
However, recirculation technologies consume more energy, and this increases production costs. Use of the solar energy is an environmentally friendly alternative to compensate for extra energy costs of aerators and recirculation pumps.
The farm produces about 90 tons of fish annually, using only 40 liters of water per second. The production rate is 2.25 tons of fish for the water flow of 1 liter/second which is 2.8 times more fish than the accepted standard of 800 kg. The energy saving is estimated to 46 MWh annually while the total energy consumption of the fishery is about 350 MWh in a year.
USAID, through the ASPIRED Project, has been instrumental in strengthening the groundwater resource management capacities in Armenia. As part of its assistance to the Ministry of Environment, ASPIRED Project supports restoration and extension of the national reference groundwater monitoring network in the Ararat Valley. Starting from 2016 until now, ASPIRED has been delivering a full-stack technical assistance to the Ministry of Environment, including training, capacity building, equipment donation and refurbishment of some groundwater observation wells. Water measurements on observation wells provide information on the state of the groundwater aquifer. This data is also critical for planning and efficient management of groundwater resources. To enhance the data-driven decision making at the Ministry of Environment, during 2019-2020, ASPIRED donated the state-of-art equipment to the Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center (HMC) – the Ministry’s subdivision responsible for groundwater monitoring. The HMC received an ultrasonic flowmeter, groundwater level meters, a well camera, portable devices for measuring water temperature, amount of dissolved oxygen and electric conductivity. In 2019, the ASPIRED Project refurbished seven observation wells in the feeding zone of the Ararat Valley for inclusion into the National Reference Groundwater Monitoring Network. The HMC will start measurements on these wells since May 2021. At the present, the HMC reportedly conducts routine groundwater monitoring on 238 wells using equipment provided by the ASPIRED Project.
By the request of the Ministry of Environment, ASPIRED will restore two more groundwater monitoring wells in Dalar and Vardanashen communities in Ararat and Armavir regions. In January-February 2021, the hydrologists of the ASPIRED Project and HMC inspected the condition of the wells and the nearby area. Using the well camera ️📹, the team was able to assess the well structure and littering level. Refurbishments will include cleaning of wells, restoration of damaged well structures, replacement of valves and area fencing 🛠.
Groundwater monitoring assumes technical skills in the use of equipment and assessment process, as well as knowledge of the groundwater system among the specialists involved in routine monitoring tasks. Facilitated by ASPIRED Project, the US Geological Survey conducted training of the Ministry staff on well inventory, data collection and water quality sampling protocols in 2016, and delivered a webinar on groundwater modeling and hydrogeologic framework in 2017. Groundwater resources of the Ararat Valley are of strategic importance for the country. With the increasing concern over the shrinking groundwater level, there should be an effective resource management policy on place to meet current and future water needs and prevent their further reduction, and negative impact on the environment.
USAID/Armenia Advanced Science & Partnerships for Integrated Resource Development (ASPRIED) Project is soliciting Bids for the supply of PE pipes and fittings and provision of pipework, as well as the construction of a valve chamber and an intake chamber under the project concept Improving Efficiency of Irrigation system in Mrgashat Village.
Full IFB document can be downloaded by the following link:
ASPIRED Project completed a ten-day course on the Decision Support System – GIS-based software tool for management of water resources. The training was designed for the water sector specialists from the government, research, and academic sectors.
Course participants were the staff of two subdivisions of the Ministry of Environment – Department for licenses, permits and compliances, Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center, the Inspectorate for Nature Protection and Mineral Resources as well as representatives of Agrarian University and Acopian Center for the Environment.
Mastering of the DSS tools will help users to generate data on hydrologic or water balance, water supply and demand balance, water availability for use by various sectors of economy in the conditions of changing climate, ecological status of water resources and provide data-driven support decisions on water management. Decision makers will use the DSS for the management planning of river basins, basin management or other areas such as the Ararat Valley.
Invitation for Bids (IFB) For Supply of Materials and Implementation of Construction Work Under Expansion of Irrigation system in Hovtashat Village
IFB Name: Advanced Science & Partnerships for Integrated Resource Development (ASPIRED) Project; Supply of Materials and Implementation of Construction Work under Expansion of Irrigation system in Hovtashat Village.
IFB Number: IFB # 190121-01
ASPIRED is soliciting Bids for the supply of PE pipes and fittings and provision of pipework, as well as the construction of a valve chamber and an intake chamber under the project concept Expansion of Irrigation system in Hovtashat Village.
Bids must be submitted no later than 17:00, Yerevan Time, on 02, February 2021. Each bidder must submit an electronic copy of the bid to aspired@engl.com.
More detailed explanation of the bid requirements and description of activities is provided in the full IFB document below.
On January 14, the ASPIRED Project conducted a zoom meeting to present the draft method of assessment of self-purification capacity of rivers for the peer review of the academic sector experts. ASPIRED experts presented the hydrochemical, hydrobiological and hydromorphological components of the method, including the process, the methodology, the sampling, and calculation methods.
The method is elaborated by the ASPIRED Project by the initiative of the Ministry of Environment as part of the priority measures on efficient management of the Ararat groundwater basin. The working group formed by the ASPIRED Project consists of the relevant field experts – a hydro-morphologist, water quality specialist and hydro-biologist, as well as the representatives of the stakeholder agencies – the Ministries of Environment, Emergency Situations, Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. Water samplings were made in Kasakh River basin based on the characteristics, such as the river network morphology, hydrological feeding regime, existing human and natural pressures on the water quality, availability of multi-year monitoring data and other factors.
By the acknowledgement of the experts, the definition of the self-purification capacity index is very important given the pollution level of the Armenian rivers. The meeting participants highly appreciated the comprehensive academic approach adopted by the ASPIRED experts in their research activities, particularly the depth and the synergy of issues tackled, and the diverse team of experts involved into the working group. Another positive aspect is that the method takes into consideration the seasonality factor of the rivers. The questions mostly required explanations on the calculation and sampling methods used by the experts, use and interpretation of the analytical data and follow-up actions towards enforcement of the method.
The representative of the Ministry of Environment noted that the method of self-purification capacity of rivers will be used by the Ministry staff during the water use permitting evaluations and welcomed insights of the meeting participants as to where else the method can be applied. The participants named a few more application areas. The method can be effective for the climate change projections as well as environmental impact assessment of business activities, namely the anthropogenic impacts on the rivers. It was also mentioned that the analysis of self-purification capacity of rivers is important for the river basin planning processes, particularly for determining water bodies at potential or actual risk.
ASPIRED Project will finalize the method of self-purification capacity assessment of rivers, the user manual and the draft legal act with enforcement mechanisms and present to the Ministry of Environment.
World Water Day is celebrated globally on 
