Georgians Kick Up a Stink Over Sewage

Officials agree to act on pollution that threatens capital’s water supply.

By Tea Topuria in Jinvali (CRS No. 530, 05-Feb-10)

Sewage is leaking into the reservoir that provides almost half of Tbilisi’s water and, although the water company says there is no cause for concern, officials in the Georgian capital have demanded it take action.

Representatives of Georgian Water and Power, which is responsible for the capital’s water quality, say all drinking water is filtered before it reaches consumers, but ecologists are not convinced.

The sewage system of the village of Jinvali has been broken since 1987, and raw sewage pours across the road into a nearby orchard. From the fields, it trickles into the Bodorni reservoir, which is 45 kilometres from Tbilisi.

According to Giorgi Ioramashvili, a representative of the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network, CENN, the sewage system serves 1,100 families.

“The pipes burst, this mass came to the surface and covered the nearby land. Not far away, in the village of Aragvispireti, it accumulated in foundation pits dug out but left unfilled in Soviet times. Even in winter there is an intolerable smell, and in rainy weather it pours all over the place and gets into the drainage system. And worst of all is the fact that, eventually, it gets into the river Aragvi,” he said.

He said the river feeds the Bodorni reservoir, which in turn supplies the capital. Georgian Water and Power denied the sewage presented any problem to the city’s water quality.

“The company carries out laboratory tests on the water quality and has never discovered a deviation from the norm,” Omar Gotsiridze, the company’s technical director, said.

But state officials were not so sanguine. Shota Tsanava, the deputy director of the centre for disease control, said it was unacceptable for sewage to pollute drinking water in any way.

“Water polluted with faecal matter can transmit diseases like intestinal infections, like salmonella or typhoid fever,” he said.

For the residents of Jinvali, however, their own problems seem far more immediate than the potential risk to the capital of an epidemic. The sewage stops them not only working their land, but also moving around.

“The sewage pours onto our fields, we cannot work them. In summer there is a horrible smell. It’s impossible to live in such conditions,” said Vano Kashiashvili, a resident of the village.

He could be forgiven for doubting that their problems will be dealt with soon. In the two decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia’s infrastructure declined significantly, meaning that the quality of drinking water is a major issue for the whole country.

“The sewage systems and the filtration systems, which were built by the communists, are old and in need of repair. Because of this, water cleansing does not happen consistently,” said Rezo Getiashvili, another CENN representative.

The problem is particularly severe, he said, in small towns and villages, where the mains water system has collapsed. He said the filtration system was also inadequate in many of the bigger towns and cities including Tbilisi, Borjomi, Khashuri, Akhaltsikhe and Kutaisi.

IWPR asked the environment ministry to comment on the situation in Jinvali, and as a result, a representative visited the village to check.

“As a result of the inspection it was confirmed that the sewage system has fallen completely into disrepair, and sewage water and faecal masses have poured onto land reserved for agricultural use belonging to the local residents. The water then pours into the river Aragvi,” the ministry said.

It said it had informed local officials about the village’s problems.

“If the local authorities do not resolve the problem in the near future, they will be fined in accordance with environmental law.”

Local officials said they were aware of the problem and promised to take action soon. Beso Buzaladze, representative of the regional government in Jinvali, confirmed that the pipes had burst more than two decades ago after being damaged by tree roots.

“In 2003-4, part of the problem was sorted out, although we did not manage to completely solve it,” he said.

Georgian Water and Power also promised that the pollution problem would be resolved. Documents it provided showed that it intended to start restoring sewage collectors and local filtration devices this year. The new plans would prevent faecal matter and other pollution from entering the river Aragvi.

It was not entirely clear why officials had not taken action before IWPR investigated, but residents were glad they had.

“It is good that they have at last remembered us. I probably won’t get a decent harvest this season, but may God grant that this problem is now solved once and for all,” Vano Kashiashvili said.

Tea Topuria is a freelance journalist.