YEREVAN. –  The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Wednesday will publicly launch its new Advanced Science and Partnerships for Integrated Resource Development (ASPIRED) project in Armenia, and which will help reduce groundwater abstraction rates in the Ararat Valley and reach sustainable levels.

In 2014, USAID conducted an assessment of the status of groundwater resources in the Ararat Valley, which produces about 40 percent of the country’s agricultural GDP.

The study raised an alarming situation with the shrinking level of the area’s groundwater supplies, largely due to the poorly controlled growth of fisheries and use of water.

USAID’s three-year ASPIRED project will assist with updating existing data on underground resources, install an automated control system on water extraction points at ten fisheries, and pilot water and energy efficiency technologies.

Recommendations will be provided to the Government of Armenia to optimize fees for underground water use by fisheries.