In other words, the Okchuchay River in Azerbaijan has been subject to its fourth pollution assessment. Deputy head of Azerbaijan’s National Hydrometeorological Service, Akbar Asgarov, announced this during a conference focused on rebuilding water and sewage infrastructure in the Karabakh region. Asgarov reported that water samples taken from the river showed significant contamination with heavy metals, attributing the pollution to operations by Armenian enterprises. Before the area was occupied, there were 17 hydrological and 9 meteorological stations active, but these were found destroyed following the area’s liberation.
The Okchuchay River flows through Armenian territory before merging with the Araz River. Industrial waste from a copper-molybdenum factory and a gold mine in Armenia is discharged into these rivers, leading to severe land and water contamination in the vicinity. The Araz River, which flows through several countries, is consequently adversely affected, impacting Azerbaijan’s environment.
This ongoing pollution of the Araz River by Armenia has garnered international concern and action. The European Union, as a party to the Espoo Convention, which mandates environmental impact assessments for projects with cross-border effects, dispatched an observer mission to Arazdayan. This was in response to the construction of a large metallurgical plant by Armenia and the US near the Azerbaijani border, capable of producing substantial quantities of copper and molybdenum. The project raised alarms over potential environmental and health risks for millions in the region.