The document summarizes Georgia's water resources, focusing on the Mtkvari River. It notes that the Mtkvari is Georgia's largest river, flowing through several major cities before exiting into the Caspian Sea. However, the river faces severe pollution problems from untreated municipal and industrial waste. There are concerns that a proposed Turkish dam project could alter the river's flow and impact water levels in Georgia. Protecting transboundary rivers like the Mtkvari from pollution and other threats is important for the environment and economies of Georgia and Azerbaijan.

1. GEORGIA WATER SUPPLY

2. GEORGIA
 Georgia is rich with water resources. There are 26 060
rivers in Georgia.
 There are a lot of thermal and mineral water springs in the
country. There are many natural and mechanic water
reservoirs. Important supplies of ground water are in
limestone horizons on the territory of Caucasus.
 There are about 860 lakes in Georgia. Most of them are
very small so their water surface area is about 170
km2. 43 reservoirs serve to hydroelectric stations and
irrigation system. 35 ones among them are in East
Georgia. Water reservoirs are very important in
economics of Georgia. Nowadays in Georgia more than
75% of electric energy is generated in hydroelectric
stations.
 The biggest river of Georgia is Mtkvari.

3. GEORGIAN - MTKVARI
TURKISH – KURA
AZERBAIJAN - KÜR

4. LOCATION
 Mtkvari river is the biggest river in South Caucasus
region.
 Mtkvari river starting in northeastern Turkey, it flows
through Turkey to Georgia, then to Azerbaijan, it
receives the Aras river as a right tributary, and
enters the Caspian Sea.
 The total length of the river is 1,515 kilometres.
 Kura river length in Georgia is 400 kilometres, in
Azerbaijan is 906 kilimetres and in Turkey 209
kilometres.

5. HISTORY OF KURA
People have lived on the Kura for at least 7,000 years. The first
irrigation agriculture began about 4,500 years ago in the eastern
Azerbaijan lowlands.
Even though irrigation agriculture had been well established for
thousands of years, until the 1920s, humans did not have a
significant effect on the ecology or hydrology of the Kura River
watershed. Since the logging and agriculture began to have a
severe outcome on the water availability of the basin. Many
forested areas in the mountains have been replaced by thin
grassland because of logging. These habitat changes have been
detrimental to the ecology of the Kura basin. After the
1920s, wetlands were drained and reservoirs were created to
facilitate development of irrigation in the lower Kura valley.

7. CITIES WHERE KURA RIVER FLOWS
 In Georgia - Borjomi; Gori; Mtskheta; Tbilisi;
Rustavi;
 In Azerbaijan – Mingechauri; Evlakhi; Sabirabad;
Ali-Baramli; Saliani.
Mtkvari river divides Tbilisi in two parts.

9. ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OF MTKVARI
 The first ecological problem of river Mtkvari in Georgia is
the canalization - communal used waters with focal
waste goes to the river without any filtrations.
 Biological cleaning of water is not available in any
towns. Primary mechanic cleaning is implemented only
on Tbilisi-Rustavi regional cleaning structure. As a
result, there is important pollution on water objects.
 River Mtkvari is polluted by the municipal waste,
population growth increases the pollution of the river.
 River Mtkvari is polluted by the factories, by the major
industrial cities, like Tbilisi and Rustavi.

13. WHAT IS THE RESULT?
 Biodiversity loss – Almost 60 species of fish inhabit
the Kura River and its tributaries. Among rivers of
the Caucasus, the Kura has the largest number of
endemic species.
 Poison of our neighbors – river Kura goes from
Georgia to Azerbaijan, it means that the pollution
will go to Azerbaijan.
 Canalization pollution will grow diseases such is :
Botkin’s disease (viral hepatitis type A) and
Dithyramb.

14. PROJECT “BESHIK HAYA”
 A hydroelectric project in Turkey’s northeastern
Ardahan district will change the flow of the Mtkvari
River, the biggest water artery in the South
Caucasus.
 A planned dam in northeastern Turkey, the Beshik Haya
cascade reservoirs, will divert most of the Mtkvari River
from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea. If it changes the
flow of the Mtkvari River, the dam will also cause water
levels to fall in the portion of the river that runs through
Georgia.
 The Ministry of Environment of Georgia, with the
cooperation of NGO’s from Georgia and Azerbaijan had
a deal with Turkish side and according to the information
what they have informed to the media Turkish side won’t
implement this project in near future.

15. EXPECTATIONS BY “BESHIK HAYA”
 Environmental Losses in Georgia and Azerbaijan;
 Economic damage for Georgia and Azerbaijan;
 Environmental catastrophes;
 Agricultural losses;
 Losses of South Caucasian cultural inheritances.
 Political conflicts in this region.

16. HELSINKI CONVENTION
The Parties to the Convention undertake to take all
appropriate measures to prevent, control and reduce any
trans-boundary impact.
This means they must:
 ensure that trans-boundary waters are managed in a
rational, environment-friendly manner;
 ensure that trans-boundary waters are used in a
reasonable and equitable way;
 ensure conservation and restoration of ecosystems.
Georgia and Turkey aren’t members of
Helsinki convention, Turkish side isn’t controlled
about water.

17. WORLD EXPERIENCE
Some industrial facilities generate ordinary domestic
sewage that can be treated by municipal facilities.
Industries that generate wastewater with high
concentrations of conventional pollutants (e.g. oil and
grease), toxic pollutants (e.g. heavy metals, volatile
organic compounds) or other nonconventional pollutants
such as ammonia, need specialized treatment systems.
Some of these facilities can install a pre-treatment system
to remove the toxic components, and then send the
partially treated wastewater to the municipal system.
Industries generating large volumes of wastewater
typically operate their own complete on-site treatment
systems.

18. Some industries have been successful at redesigning
their manufacturing processes to reduce or eliminate
pollutants, through a process called pollution prevention.
Heated water generated by power plants or
manufacturing plants may be controlled with:
 cooling ponds, man-made bodies of water designed for
cooling by evaporation, convection, and radiation
 cooling towers, which transfer waste heat to
the atmosphere through evaporation and/or heat
transfer
 cogeneration, a process where waste heat is recycled
for domestic and/or industrial heating purposes.

20. THANK YOU FOR ATTENTION!
TSIALA ABESADZE
THE GREENS MOVEMENT OF GEORGIA/
FOE-GEORGIA