Akhurian Reservoir

Akhurian Reservoir (Armenian: Ախուրյանի ջրամբար; Turkish: Arpaçay Barajı) is a reservoir on the Akhurian River between Armenia and Turkey.[2][3] The reservoir has a surface area of 54 km² and a volume of 525 million cubic meters.[2][3] It is one of the largest reservoirs in the Caucasus, smaller than the Mingachevir reservoir and the Shamkir reservoir in Azerbaijan.

Akhurian Reservoir
Akhurian Reservoir
Akhurian Reservoir
Akhurian Reservoir
Coordinates40°33′47.67″N 43°39′16.26″E
Basin countriesArmenia
Turkey
Built1975–1980[1]
First flooded1980[2]
Max. length20 km (12 mi)[2]
Surface area54 km2 (21 sq mi)[3]
Max. depth59 m (194 ft) (the dam)[4]
Water volume0.525 km3 (0.126 cu mi)[2][3]
Surface elevation1,600 m (5,200 ft)
SettlementsAghin

Its water is used for irrigation in Armenia's Aragatsotn, Armavir and Shirak provinces.[3] Water used on Turkey for irrigation (70000 ha agricultural area) in provinces of Kars and Ardahan.[5]

Foundation

On April 25, 1963, Turkey and the Soviet Union (which Armenia was part of at the time) signed an agreement on constructing a dam on Akhurian River and regulating the flow of four rivers into the reservoir.[2][6] It was built between 1975 and 1980[1] and began to be operated in 1980.[2]

Pollution

According to Armenian researchers, "the water system is polluted with heavy metals and different toxic materials."[2]

References
  1. Շիրակի մարզի ջրային ռեսուրսների գյուղատնտեսական արդյունավետ օգտագործումը բերքատվության բարձրացման նպատակով (in Armenian). AgroWeb Armenia. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  2. Soghoian, Yeranuhi (8 May 2009). "Pollution in Border Reservoir Worries Armenia". Institute for War & Peace Reporting. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  3. Հայաստանի Հանրապետության Ֆիզիկաաշխարհագրական օբյեկտների համառոտ տեղեկատու-բառարան [Dictionary of Physical-Geographic Objects in the Republic of Armenia] (PDF) (in Armenian). State Committee of the Real Estate Cadastre. 2007. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-05-17. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  4. "ARPAÇAY BARAJI" (in Turkish). Devlet Su İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  5. "DSİ".
  6. Sedat Laçiner; Mehmet Özcan; İhsan Bal (2010). USAK Yearbook of International Politics and Law 2010, Vol. 3. p. 232. ISBN 9786054030262.
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