An off-site working discussion was held, headed by Aramazd Ghalamkaryan, Chairman of the Water Committee (WC), regarding the summary of the irrigation season, the current activities of Water User Associations (WUAs), and improving the efficiency of the irrigation system. The discussion was attended by the Deputy Chairmen of the Water Committee, heads of sectoral departments responsible for the irrigation system, directors of all 15 WUAs in Armenia, as well as representatives of "Melioratsia" CJSC, "Jrar" CJSC, and the WISE project.

At the core of the discussion were key issues related to WUA activities: irrigation water tariffs and cost-effectiveness of the system, land consolidation, the formation of an irrigation water market and promotion of investments, infrastructure modernization, as well as the conservative and efficient use of water resources. Special attention was paid to wastewater treatment and the possibilities for its reuse for irrigation or other purposes.

The WC Chairman addressed the institutional transformation of the Water Committee—specifically the formation of the Land and Water Committee under the Government of the Republic of Armenia, the interconnection of land and water management, and, in that context, the clear requirements set before the WUA directors. Ghalamkaryan also emphasized that the activities of WUAs will be under the constant attention and supervision of the Water Committee.

During the discussion, a series of specific questions were addressed to the WUA directors regarding the actual irrigated land areas within each company’s service territory and the surface areas of lands that are technically irrigable but currently uncultivated/unirrigated, the amount of water reaching farmers out of every 1 m³ drawn from the water source, as well as water losses.

Special focus was given to the main causes of water losses and the infrastructure limiting the expansion of irrigated areas. Discussion also covered which canals and pipelines hold significant potential for expanding service areas, where pumped irrigation can be replaced with gravity-fed systems, which pumping stations are the most energy-intensive, and where daily regulation reservoirs could reduce water supply inequality and pumping station operational costs.

For their part, WUA directors presented issues arising during daily operations alongside the additional tools and mechanisms needed to resolve them. They touched upon the lack of sufficient levers to effectively combat water theft, the growth of receivables and problems with debt collection, incomplete property inventorying, as well as the need for introducing modern technologies and relevant professional training.

In conclusion, Ghalamkaryan noted that the Water Committee’s approach is clear: the work of WUAs must be evaluated not only by the actions taken, but by concrete results achieved—saved water, expanded irrigated land areas, reduced costs, and consequently, the gradual reduction of state subsidies.

The Chairman of the WC instructed each WUA to present the primary issues present in its service area, clearly specifying for each problem its cause, the volume of water lost or unirrigated land area resulting from it, the amount of investment required to solve the issue, and the expected outcome.