Summer Without Water: Veolia’s Work and Looming Water Crisis — Out of Sight

This summer, when many Yerevan residents turned on their taps, they were met not with the sound of flowing water but with the hiss of air escaping from the pipes. Veolia Djur, or perhaps some third party, had made the decision for us: no bathing today. Based on the company’s public statements, it appears that this summer, the water supplier was apologizing daily to residents of various administrative districts.

According to expert assessments, one of the main causes is the large-scale construction happening in Armenia, particularly in Yerevan. Developers make decisions about what to build, where, how many floors, and at what scale. As a result, the burden on the water supply system increases, pushing it to the brink of collapse. In addition to these objective factors, specialists argue that Veolia Djur’s failure to meet its contractual obligations has also contributed to the problem.

Even the Water Committee often lacks data on how much money is spent in each sector, as Veolia Djur has not provided detailed reports to the agency. Complaints about the company’s operations go beyond just water supply—they include low water pressure, shortages, stormwater drainage, sewage systems, and more.

In an interview with Alpha News, several sources emphasized that the Armenian government is “clinging tightly” to the French company Veolia Djur. They noted that if such frequent water outages occurred in France, citizens and the government would file so many lawsuits against the company that it would go bankrupt.