As a separate branch of infrastructure, the sewage removal system is virtually nonexistent in the border communities. The issue of sewage is solved through the very basic outhouses, which do not correspond to any sanitary standards whatsoever and do not fit into the overall infrastructure amendment structure. We are currently looking at a number of possibilities of improving the situation. While considering those variants, we have several concerns. One of the main concerns is the sustainability of the installed mechanism, as we are aiming at the most simple and effective structure, which wouldn't need complicated maintenance procedures and low upkeep costs. Another important issue is the reusability of the sewage water, which needs to go through a filtration process and if possible be used for irrigation purposes. Yet another concern is the environmental protection problem, where we need to ensure that the waste is properly dealt with. This eco friendly system has no working precedent in Armenia's rural world, thus we are trying to find the best suiting variant in the international practice and localize it. There are currently three basic variants we are looking at as potential solutions for the sewage removal network.

The first variant basically comes down to the creation of a well with concrete walls and floor, which prevents the waste from leaking through. The maintenance of this kind of facility includes a truck which empties the well on regular basis and transports the waste to a filtering unit. In our current situation, even the regional center of Ijevan does not have an adequate waste water filtering system.

The existing facility is almost completely dilapidated because of lack of proper maintenance. In the overall perspective of regional development, the existing system needs to be reconstructed, or replaced altogether. Otherwise, this kind of concrete well system is the easiest to install and maintain. Still, it does not have the on the spot water filtering and reusing capacity. This leads to a significant waste of water, which could have otherwise been used for irrigation purposes.

The other variant of solving the sewage disposal issue is the establishment of two wells, which allow the water to pass through a section of clay ground. After this basic filtering process, the water can be used for irrigation purposes. The overall maintenance of the unit is simple. The problem here is that the clay ground does not have the capacity to process the water with added chlorine, which is a necessary sanitary component in the internal water networks to be installed in the communities by The Armenia Fund as part of the drinking water condition improvement initiative. The addition of chlorine to the water makes it nearly unusable, as the chemical is damaging for plants.

The third variant in question is the most technologically advanced, as it includes full filtration septic tanks, which process the water, making it usable both for irrigation and technical purposes. The problem of the system is the complicated and costly installation and maintenance. To work efficiently the system needs the addition of certain chemicals and qualified technical staff with the know how to oversee the functioning of the unit.

This leads to a considerable operational budget. At the same time, this system is eco friendly and also most feasible as a long term solution. Here, we are discussing the option of installing a large filtering unit in one of the cluster communities, which would serve the needs of the community and parallel to that provide a filtering mechanism for the rest of the villages in the cluster, where a basic concrete well concept would be applied.

This eco friendly solution is something that might interest the environment protection agencies and NGOs as it will signal a considerable shift in the current practice, where the waste water flows into rivers and pollutes the environment.